Coronial
TASmental health

Coroner's Finding: Hanson, Sungwaan

Deceased

Sungwaan Hanson

Demographics

64y, female

Date of death

2020-05-27

Finding date

2021-05-21

Cause of death

stage IVB metastatic adenocarcinoma of the rectum

AI-generated summary

Sungwaan Hanson, a 64-year-old woman with a 35-year history of treatment-resistant schizophrenia, died from stage IVB metastatic adenocarcinoma of the rectum at the Roy Fagan Centre on 27 May 2020. She had been subject to a Mental Health Act treatment order at the time of her death. A rectal mass was identified on examination in November 2019, and CT imaging confirmed locally advanced disease. In consultation between Mental Health Services, Surgical Services, and the Public Guardian, a decision was made that Mrs Hanson was not a suitable candidate for curative treatment due to the distress it would cause given her mental health and cognitive impairment. She was referred to palliative care. The coroner found the standard of care and treatment provided at the Roy Fagan Centre to be entirely appropriate, and no recommendations for improvement were made.

AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.

Contributing factors

  • schizophrenia (treatment-resistant)
  • cognitive impairment
  • difficulty establishing symptom timeline due to mental health issues
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