liver Cancer Symptoms and Treatment

liver Cancer Symptoms and Treatment

liver Cancer Symptoms

Liver cancer can be classified in two ways: primary (cancer that begins in liver tissue) or secondary (cancer that spreads to the liver after starting in some other location).The liver is one of the most important organs in the body. The liver is divided into lobes and acts as a filter, cleansing the blood of harmful substances that are later passed out of the body as waste.

 The liver also makes bile, which helps digest fat, makes numerous proteins used by the body for many things, and stores glycogen (sugar), which provides the body with energy.

Early in the development of liver disease, there may be no symptoms at all. The following signs occur when the liver swells.  liver cancer is only one reason that livers can swell.

• A lump below the rib cage on the right side of the abdomen

• Pain near the right shoulder or on the right side of the abdomen

• Jaundice (a disease that causes skin to yellow)

• Unexplained weight loss

• Fatigue

• Nausea

• Loss of appetite

• Dark-colored urine

• Bloating

liver cancer stages include the following:

• Stage I: One tumor is found in the liver only.

• Stage II: One tumor is found, but it has spread to the blood vessels, OR more than one tumor is present, but they are all smaller than 5 cm.

• Stage III: In Stage III liver cancer, there is more than one tumor larger than 5 cm, OR the cancer has moved beyond the liver to blood vessels, another organ, or to the lymph nodes.

• TREATMENT for Liver cancer.

Treatments for primary liver cancer depend on the extent (stage) of the disease, age, overall health, feelings and personal preferences. Surgery is the most effective treatment for primary liver cancer, but this is not always possible due to the size or position of the tumor. Radiofrequency ablation is an option for people with small, unresectable hepatocellular tumors and for some types of metastatic liver cancers. During this procedure, the hepatic artery (the artery from which liver cancers derive their blood supply) is blocked, and chemotherapy drugs are injected between the blockage and the liver. Cryoablation may be an option for people with inoperable primary and metastatic liver cancers. Removing the whole liver and replacing it with a liver from another person is another possible form of treatment for primary liver cancer.

Even when treatments fail to provide much improvement in the liver cancer itself, pain and other signs and symptoms caused by liver cancer can be aggressively treated to improve quality of life. In general, the treatments available for children are the same as for adults, and the best approach depends on the stage and type of cancer as well as the child's age and overall health.