2025 Volume 75 Issue 3 Pages 295-298
A man in his 60s was diagnosed with pancreatic head cancer in month Y of year X, and began chemotherapy treatment with pain control at our outpatient pain clinic. He had been experiencing symptoms of visual and auditory hallucinations, such as “seeing figures” and “hearing commands” since month Y＋5 of year X. Since he distinguished his visual and auditory hallucinations from reality and they did not interfere with his daily life, we decided to monitor his symptoms on the advice of a psychiatrist. After being hospitalized in month Y＋11, he began receiving supportive pain control and mental care from the palliative care team. Palliative care team psychiatrists ruled out the possibility of delirium, schizophrenia, and other disorders of consciousness, determining that he was suffering from psychological dissociation caused by high self-esteem due to his previous work history and pride that prevented him from complaining. In this case, appropriate supportive care that took into consideration this background not only contributed to the disappearance of the visual and auditory hallucinations, but also achieved pain control.
