What is liver cancer?
Live cancer is of the most deadly illnesses of all time. It is a rare condition that generates, primarily in the liver and can later spread to other parts of the body. It causes the degeneration and mutations of the tissues of the liver and makes them grow in an abnormal manner.
This cancer is also known as hepatic cancer and primary hepatic cancer and it originates inside the liver. Cancer that spreads to the liver from other parts of the body is called liver metastasis. The size of the liver is as big as the size of a football and it is one of the largest organs of the human body.
Symptoms Of Liver Cancer
The signs and symptoms of this cancer aren’t visible till the later stages. Visit your doctor immediately, if you experience the following symptoms:
– Sudden weight loss
– Feeling of fullness after a small meal
– Feeling of nausea and vomiting
– Loss of appetite
– A sensation of pain in the abdominal region or close to the right shoulder blade
– Yellowness in the skin, eyes, and nails (similar to jaundice)
– Swelling in the stomach due building up of enzymes in the stomach
– Itching
– White chalk-like stools
– Fever and abnormal bruising or bleeding
Causes Of Liver Cancer
Scientifically speaking, liver cancer occurs when the liver cells develop mutations.
Prognosis Of Liver Cancer
The average survival rate is generally used as a standard method of assessing an individual’s survival. It differs from person to person and it doesn’t really say how many years you’ll survive. However, it opens a gateway to understand the stage of cancer and understanding the prognosis in a more effective way.
Here are the ways to diagnose liver cancer:
– Imaging scans like CT scan or MRI scan can be useful.
– Blood test is another way of determining this cancer. Alpha Fetoprotein, a type of protein secreted by the tumorous liver cells can be detected by blood test.
– Biopsy where a sample of the infected tissues is analysed to understand the gravity of cancer.
Visit your doctor immediately if you experience any of the symptoms. The earlier the diagnosis and treatment, the higher is the chance of survival.
