What Is Liver Cancer?
The liver is an organ with is of the size of a football; it is located on upper right part of our abdomen, just below the diaphragm and above the stomach. The cancers beginning from the liver cells are referred to as liver cancer. This cancer type is one of the most frequently occurring forms of cancer of the world. However, people of United States get affected by liver cancer much less frequently. Only in the past decade it has been found that rate of liver cancer diagnosis has increased in the US.
Every cancer type affecting our liver is not categorized as liver cancer. Cancers originating from other body parts like breasts, lungs and colon when invade the liver, are referred to as metastatic cancer and not liver cancer. Such cancers are named after their place of origin; for instance the term 'metastatic breast cancer' is used for cancer beginning from the breasts and invading the liver with progression of the disease.
Majority of the liver cancer patients do not experience any symptom of the condition when the cancer is in its early stages. As the disease progresses, patients might experience the following symptoms:
- Unexplained weight loss
- Pain in the upper abdomen
- Decreased appetite
- Abdominal swelling
- Vomiting and nausea
- Enlarged liver
- Persistent fatigue and weakness
- Jaundice, a condition marked by yellowing of skin and whites of eyes
- Chalky, white stool
Liver cancer beginning from the liver cells, which is also often referred to as primary liver cancer can be classified into 4 types depending on the cell types affected by the disease. They are:
- Hepatocellular carcinoma: This cancer types begins from the hepatocytes and accounts for majority of the liver cancer cases.
- Cholangiocarcinoma: Cholangiocarcinoma originates from the tiny tube-like structures located within our liver called the bile ducts. Some also refer to this cancer type as bile duct cancers.
- Hepatoblastoma: Hepatoblastoma is the liver cancer type affecting the liver cells of young children and infants.
- Hemangiosarcoma or angiosarcoma: They start from blood vessels within our liver. These cancer types grow extremely rapidly.
Diagnosis of liver cancer is done through imaging tests, blood tests and biopsy. Once diagnosed with live cancer, the doctor might suggest you to undergo one or more of the following treatment procedures:
- Partial hepatectomy or the surgical procedure for getting the affected portion of liver removed
- Liver transplant Surgery; during this procedure the ailing liver get replaced by healthy liver
- Cryoablation or freezing of cancer cells
- Radiofrequency ablation or heating of cancer cells
- Injection of alcohol into tumors
- Chemotherapy
- Radiation therapy
- Drugs therapy with a medication called Sorafenib
Milk Thistle for Liver Cancer
The flowering herb milk thistle is grown widely in the Mediterranean region and in countries like Brazil, United States, Paraguay and Argentina. This herb is particularly known for protecting our liver. Milk thistle contains some biologically active agents that are known for their anticancer properties. Often alternative medicine experts and naturopaths recommend use of this herb for treating liver cancer. However, one should never use herbal supplements of milk thistle without consulting his physician.
A recent study has revealed that milk thistle contains an ingredient called Silymarin. The active biological ingredient present in silymarin i.e. silybin stops abnormal growth of the cancer cells with its anti-proliferate properties. According to some medical studies, milk thistle can offer [...]
Liver Cancer Alternative Treatment
General treatment for liver cancer include use of procedures like surgery for removing the affected by the liver when the liver is partially affected, liver transplant surgery if the liver is seriously affected and chemotherapy. However, at times the physician decides not to use surgery and chemotherapy for treating liver cancer; such decision of a doctor might be due to factors like overall health conditions, stage of the cancer and age of the patient. In such cases, doctors opt for liver cancer alternative treatment. Below we have discussed about the common alternative treatment procedures used for treating liver cancer.
Freezing of cancer cells: In this procedure the doctor instead of removing the cancer affected part of the liver surgically, freezes the tumors using liquid nitrogen. [...]
Can Herbs Help Liver Cancer Patients?
The conventional treatment of liver cancer include: freezing of the cancer cells, liver transplant and liver surgery. However along with this treatment patient suffering from liver cancer might undergo alternative therapies like trying some herbal remedies. However, no such remedies should be tried without asking your physician.
Astragalus:
This herb is used in Chinese medicine since centuries. Studies conducted on both human beings and animals have revealed that Astragalus helps in improving the strength of our immune system. This herb works by restoring the cell immunity in liver cancer patients. According to experts, the ideal way of consuming this herb is either as supplement or as tea. However, as this herb is known to cause severe blood clotting, you must not take it without asking [...]
How Many Liver Cancer Stages Are There?
Once a liver cancer diagnosis has been made the next step is to determine how advanced the cancer has become. This process is called staging. There are four liver cancer stages that are used in determining the stage of liver cancer present in an individual. There are several tests that may be used to determine this including blood tests, CT scans and an MRI or magnetic resonance imaging test.
Stage 1 indicates that the liver cancer is a small tumor or growth confined to the liver area. This means it has not yet started to grow and has not yet affected any blood vessels or other areas.
In Stage 2 liver cancer may be a small tumor that has started to spread to local blood vessels. This stage may also consist of several small tumors within the liver.
Stage 3 may show that the liver contains [...]
What Is The Most Effective Liver Cancer Treatment?
There are several aspects of liver cancer treatment with one of the most important being discovery of the disease at an early enough stage for treatment to be possible. The earlier liver cancer is detected and diagnosed the better the chances for successful treatment. As time progresses the disease spreads rather quickly and treatment options are dependent largely on how much the cancer has spread. In advanced stages there are few treatment options that may be available let alone effective. This is why it is so important to be diagnosed at the earliest possible stage.
Early diagnosis of liver cancer is difficult due largely to the fact that in many cases this disease presents little or no symptoms in the early stages. However in the rare cases that symptoms are present you should pay attention [...]
What Are The Liver Cancer Signs And Symptoms?
Liver cancer is a serious disease that affects the liver and causes numerous problems for the individual that has been diagnosed with it. There are two ways a person may develop liver cancer.
When cancer originates or begins in the liver this is known as primary liver cancer. However when this cancer starts somewhere else in the body and spreads or moves to the liver this is often referred to as metastatic liver cancer. This type of cancer can come from almost anywhere in the body although it is most likely to have come from areas close by such as the pancreas, colon or lungs.
There are many liver cancer signs and symptoms however many of these do not manifest or appear until the advanced stages of the disease. Some of these symptoms may include anemia, loss of appetite, unexplained weight [...]
Are There Any Known Liver Cancer Causes?
It has not been determined at this time what the specific liver cancer causes are however there are several factors that may be used to determine if a person is at a higher risk for developing this cancer. Some of these risk factors include the following:
Age and Gender
In most cases liver cancer is most common in older males, generally over the age of sixty years. It has been suggested that men are twice as likely to develop this cancer as women are.
Family History
If someone in your family has had liver cancer it is known to increase your chances of developing this disease yourself.
Heredity
Some liver disease that may be inherited from other family members such as parents or grandparents may increase the chances of developing liver cancer. Even some liver diseases that are not inherited [...]
Are Liver Cancer Symptoms in Women Different?
The liver is the biggest gland in the body and has several functions necessary to the overall health of an individual. Some of these functions include the storage of vitamins and nutrients as well as the production of proteins that are used for blood clotting and bile which helps in digesting food. It also aids in breaking down and filtering toxins that may be found in the blood.
Cancer of the liver can occur in two ways known as primary and secondary liver cancer. Primary liver cancer occurs when the liver is the original location of the liver. Secondary liver cancer also known as metastasized liver cancer occurs when the cancer begins somewhere other than the liver and spreads to the liver.
Anyone male or female can get liver cancer although it is more common in men. The liver cancer [...]
What Is Metastatic Liver Cancer?
There are two basic ways of describing liver cancer. The first is primary liver cancer. This is liver cancer that actually begins in the liver and if caught early enough only affects the liver. The other is secondary liver cancer. Secondary liver cancer occurs when the cancer actually starts in another part of the body such as the lungs, colon or pancreas and spreads or metastasizes to the liver. Secondary liver cancer is often called metastatic liver cancer.
Secondary liver cancer is harder to treat than cancer that originates in the liver because it has spread from somewhere else which means that more cells have been affected by cancer thus there is a need to destroy or kill more cells to effectively treat the cancer.
The first step in treating any cancer is finding it and determining [...]
Known Liver Cancer Symptoms
The liver is a small organ of the approximate size of a football that is located above the stomach. Cancer of the liver is one of the most common types of cancer in the world although it is slightly less common in this country. There are many liver cancer symptoms however in most cases these do not manifest until the later stages of the disease.
The most common form of liver cancer in the United States is generally cancers that spread or metastasize from other areas of the body. These are cancers that begin somewhere else and move to the liver over a period of time. Primary liver cancer is cancer that begins in the liver and metastasizes to other areas.
Although anyone can develop liver cancer at any time some factors that may increase the risk of being affected by this disease include [...]
Childhood Liver Cancer
Childhood liver cancer or hepatoma is an atypical disease that commences in the liver which is among the largest organs responsible for a host of functions like converting food into energy, purifying and storing blood.
The two cancerous forms originating in the liver are: hepatoblastoma and hepatocellular cancer – that are categorized according to the microscopic appearance of the cancer cells.
Hepatoblastoma is prevalent among below three-year-old infants and could be due to the presence of an anomalous gene. Infants from families that have blood relations carrying a gene associated to a particular form of colon cancer could be more prone to developing this form of cancer.
Hepatocellular cancer is detected among infants from delivery onwards till nineteen years of age. Infants that [...]
