Every time I read a medical note that refers to the patient as "unfortunate" I pause for a moment, mildly perplexed yet amused. Granted, it's always been a valid use of the noun. I personally would consider being diagnosed with cancer to be, at the very least, an unfortunate turn of events. I too would term him/her as an "unfortunate X year old with refractory acute leukemia."
Still, this phrasing never fails to stand out as the first and last language in the note that in any way humanizes the patient, thence forth returning to the common practice of referring to patients as spoiled dairy products (e.g. expired.)
Makes me shake my head in perplexity and amusement every single time.
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