Ask The Doctor

Liver Cancer

The liver is a large organ located on the upper right side of the navel.
Liver cancer occurs when normal cells in the liver turn into abnormal cells and grow out of control.

Why?

Most people who get liver cancer have long-term liver disease (also called chronic liver disease). Having long-term liver disease increases a person’s risk of developing liver cancer. Among the most common causes of long-term liver disease are Viral Hepatitis (such as Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C …), cirrhosis due to long-term alcohol use. People with chronic diseases should be followed by specialist teams.

What are the symptoms of liver cancer?

Liver cancer usually does not cause any symptoms on its own. Sometimes there may be a lump or mild pain in the upper abdomen, while in advanced stages, symptoms such as early saturation, weakness and jaundice due to the effect of the mass can be seen. In addition, exacerbations can be seen in the symptoms of a long-term (chronic) disease that existed before the cancer was diagnosed.

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Swelling of the abdomen or legs…

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Widespread edema in the body.

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Yellowing of the skin or whites of the eyes

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Like severe fatigue…

Is there a test for liver cancer?

Yeah. If your doctor suspects liver cancer, he or she will do one or more of the following tests:

  • Blood tests (Hemogram and biochemistry tests etc.)
  • MRI scan, CT scan, ultrasound, or other imaging tests – Imaging tests create pictures of the inside of the body and may show abnormal growths.
  • Biopsy – For this test, the radiologist will take a small sample of tissue from the liver with imaging. The pathologist will look at the sample under a microscope to see if there is cancer in the piece taken.

How is liver cancer treated?

Liver cancer can be treated in different ways. Treatment depends on the stage of your cancer. It also depends on how healthy your liver is (in other words, how serious your liver disease was before you got cancer). Different treatments include:

  • Surgery – Liver cancer can sometimes be treated with surgery to remove the cancerous part of the liver.
  • Liver transplant – A liver transplant is a type of surgery in which a doctor replaces a diseased liver with a healthy liver from another person.
  • Ablation therapy – Ablation therapy is a procedure that can kill cancer cells in the liver. Does not include surgery. Doctors can perform ablation therapy in different ways. They can kill cancer cells using heat, microwaves, lasers, or radiation therapy.
  • Blocking the cancer’s blood flow – Doctors may perform a process called “embolization” to block the blood vessel that sends blood to the cancer. This prevents the cancer from growing by “starving” it from the blood supply. Sometimes the embolization procedure is combined with chemotherapy (“chemoembolization”) or radiation (“radioembolization”).
  • Immunotherapy – This is the term doctors use for drugs that work with the body’s infection-fighting system (“immune system”) to stop cancer growth.
  • Chemotherapy – Chemotherapy is the medical term for drugs that kill cancer cells or stop their growth.

Ask us anything that comes to mind…

It is important that you follow all your doctor’s instructions about visits and tests. It is also important to talk to your doctor about any side effects or problems you experience during treatment.

 

Getting treated for liver cancer involves making many choices, such as which treatment to have.

Always let your doctors and nurses know what you think about a treatment. 

 

When offered a treatment, ask:

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What are the benefits of this treatment? Is it likely to help me live longer? Will it reduce or prevent symptoms?

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What are the disadvantages of this treatment?

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Are there any other options than this treatment?

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What happens if I do not have this treatment?