The liver cancer is on the rise and you should make sure that you
have regular screenings if you are at risk, and also visit the doctor if
you show any liver cancer symptom.
First, know that liver cancer rates are increasing
The liver cancer is quite rare, but since the 1990s the relative risk has doubled rising from 3,5 to 6,5 percent per 100.000, the chief medical officer for the American Cancer Society, Otis Brawley has noticed. The symptoms of it do not usually show until the cancer is at advanced stages, so making regular screenings may be the key to survival rates. If we are having someone with regular screenings and it looks like cancer, we are going to be able to cure them, versus in case when they have an advance disease that has spread beyond the liver, said Dr. Ghassan Aboualfa, a medical oncologist at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. We do not want to see patients with symptoms. Check the four risk factors and the four symptoms that may give clue the signs of liver damage, and avoid these ways because you are secretly hurting your liver.
You’ve had hepatitis C
There are some characteristics that can put you at risk for liver cancer. People who have history of the virus hepatitis C may develop related liver cancer ten years after their diagnosis. CDS has recommended that anyone born between 1945 and 1965 get tested for the virus. Many of the Americans in this age group have not been screened, says Dr. Brawley. There exist some treatment that may cure hepatitis C and so prevent liver cancer. You might be having this liver disease and not know it.
You’ve had hepatitis B (or haven’t been vaccinated)
This one, although is unrelated to hepatitis C can also cause cancer. All American children get vaccinated when they are born, but people who have not gotten this vaccination may be at risk for liver cancer, Dr. Aboualfa says. Everyone who had hepatitis should have some form of monitoring by a medical expert. He also recommends getting an ultrasound at least once a year in order to screen for cancer in case you had either virus. Making a test for protein alfa fetoprotein in the blood may also be a sign to liver cancer, although is has been proven to be an accurate test. Maybe you are not realizing it, but thirdhand smoke may actually damage your liver.
You hit the bottle hard (or used to)
Heavy alcohol may damage the liver cells which are replaced by scar tissue and this issue can then lead to liver cancer, as the American Cancer Society thinks. Please pay some attention to these signs you are binge drinking.
You’re obese
There is some new driver [of liver cancer] is non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, Dr. Abou-Alfa states and the rise in liver cancer associated with obesity and diabetes has been the main driver for years. Only because you are overweight does not mean you are necessarily at high risk for liver cancer, Dr. Bawley says. A lot of people in the United Sates are obese and liver cancer is so rare, he notes. The many risk factors you have, the more concerned you should be, so talk to your doctor. Try these ways to lose weight without a lick of exercise.
You notice unusual abdominal pain
Most of persons with liver cancer experience some pain in the upper right of their abdomen, says Dr. Brawley, and when he examines patients who are asymptomatic, when he presses where the liver is, they say that that hurts. Experincing pain in this area does not necessarily meand liver cancer, it may be from hepatitis, or pancreas problems, or gallbladder, he noted. Here are the seven common stomach pains and what they mean.
You’re losing weight without trying
Loss of appetite and weight loss is a common symptom of people with a lot of different diseases, including a number of different cancers and viruses, Dr. Brawley noted. Dropping on the scale might not be cancer, but please make sure to tell your doctor if your other symptoms could be linked with liver cancer. There follow some other cancer symptoms men should never ignore and cancer signs women shouldn’t overlook.
You feel full quickly
Having some excess fluid in the belly could cause you to feel full faster than usual, Dr. Abou-Alfa says. Cancer always makes you lose your appetite.
Your eyes or skin are yellow
These symptoms of jaundice could indicate liver cancer, and if you are itching and have jaundice, it’s not a good story,” he told us. Jaundice can also be a telltale symptom of pancreatic cancer.