Dr Meryl Broughton: What stopped the patient from seeing a doctor when the tumour broke through her skin?

A woman in her early 60s was found unconscious at home by her husband.
She was having abnormal spasmodic fits involving her left side.
The uncontrolled focal seizures were managed by appropriate IV medications when she was admitted to hospital in a coma, but she remained in a moribund state.
Physical examination revealed an ulcerating breast lump, an enlarged nodular liver and coarse crepitations in both lung fields.