[Verified Answer]: Mrs

Mrs. T.J. is a 54-year-old female, who presents to her primary care provider with a 2-week history of sore throat that does not improve with gargling with warm salt water (family remedy). There is no pain or tenderness in her throat when palpated, but she is a TV reporter and very concerned about her voice. She doesn’t have a fever or any aches, but she does admit to having lost five pounds in the last week. Personal History She has been very physically fit for all of her life, but admits to social drinking and a cigarette habit that she picked up in college (currently, 1⁄2 pack per day). She suffered bouts of seasonal allergic rhinitis for most of her life. Her father died at age 89 of colon cancer. Her mother, age 83, is alive and suffers hypertension and hypercholesterolemia. She is married with three healthy, grown children. Medical Update Patient does not appear in distress, just anxious. Respirations are rapid. Auscultations reveal muffled lung sounds on the left and clear lung sounds on the right. Sputum is negative for pathogenic organisms. Trachea appears deviated to the right. Chest X-ray reveals a mass in the left medial location of the thoracic cavity.