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Could it have been different

María Isabel GUIRADO, Cynthia ANTEQUERA and Lorena MORALES

71 years old german patient, living in our town for more than 15 years. He's not taken any medications and he has no clinical history. First time in the doctor in Spain. He has never smoked.  He's having a headache that gets better with painkillers. As we talked and asked for any other sympthons in the patient, who has never been to the doctor before in our country, he tells us that he has been losing weight, about 8 kg in two months. He denies any urinary or digestive symptoms.Blood test and X-ray results: An elevation in alfa1-alfa2-globulins, PCR and Ferritine levels with a decend of the global protein number,  ferropenic anemia.  Thoracic X-ray: showed an enlargement of the medistinic space. We asked for a Body-TC: Pulmonar mass that seemed neoplasic in LSD that affected the bronquial branches and also the pulmonary artery. Axilar and hiliar Lymphadenopathies  Pulmonary, liver, occipital, hip and ribs metastasesThe most difficult thing with this patient was the fact that he has been living a normal life even when we gave him the diagnose and prognosis of his condition.The oncology service decided palliative radiotherapy and derivated the patient to paliative care unit. In our area, the palitive care unit is formed by a family doctor and nurse that covers a very large area, tha's why the follow-up and treatment of the pain and other symptons were done mostly by us, so we managed palliative symptoms and did the follow-up.The main key here is, how can we handle an apparently healthy patient that has never consulted before because he didn't have a condition that he knew about?Sometimes the only thing we can do for aour patients is relieve thier symptoms