Social isolation and cancer management - advanced rectal cancer with patient delay following the 2011 triple disaster in Fukushima, Japan: a case report.

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Little is known about the effects of social isolation in the elderly on their process of gaining health information and seeking health care. CASE PRESENTATION: In March 2011, Fukushima, Japan experienced an earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disaster, also known as Japan's triple disaster. In June 2016, an 80-year-old Japanese man, who lived alone after divorce at the age of 42, presented to our hospital with bloody stools and dizziness. Although his bloody stools initially occurred in May 2015, a year earlier, he did not pursue the possibility of malignancy. He was diagnosed as having stage IIIA rectal cancer. Detailed history taking revealed that he experienced social isolation a..