Terminal Bleeding in Angiosarcoma

Introduction: Terminal bleeding, a distressing symptom experience for patients, caregivers, and health professionals, occurs in a subset of patients in the palliative care setting. Terminal bleeding is often thought of as a large-volume catastrophically fatal event, but it can also occur for a longer period of time and still be the precipitating event for a patient's death. Case Report: We present the case of terminal bleeding in an 87-year-old patient with angiosarcoma, a rare aggressive vascular neoplasm that can occur anywhere in the body but tend to occur more frequently in the head and neck. Discussion: The patient's advanced age and aggressive disease presented challenges in managing the symptoms and precluded many of the conventional recommended interventions to manage bleeding. Conclusion: This case report speaks to the need for multidisciplinary planning that takes prognosis, performance status, previous therapies, and patient preferences into account when caring for patients with advanced cancer.