Background

Jessica is a 34-year-old Caucasian woman. She is married with 1 small child. Her husband has recently been laid off from his job. Jessica works as a reading specialist in an urban elementary school, where she helps disadvantaged children learn to read. She is a nonsmoker/nondrinker who experiences a lot of professional stress on the job and financial stress at home. She takes alprazolam PRN to manage mild anxiety.

Patient history

Jessica presented with a localized mass in her upper left thigh. She was treated with compartmentalized resection followed by radiotherapy. The pathology report showed a 9.2-cm dedifferentiated liposarcoma with clean margins.

Treatment history

Postsurgical surveillance at 12 months revealed metastatic liposarcoma in Jessica’s cervical area. She was treated with negative margin resection followed by adjuvant chemotherapy with ifosfamide and epirubicin for 6 months. Twenty-four months later, disease recurred with metastases in the pleural cavity and upper thorax.