A Treatable Cancer Type- Liver Cancer.

Hello friends, welcome once again to my page, I promised to explore cancer as a topic and the different parts of the human body that could be affected by the deadly disease. We started with exploring thyroid cancer, and we continued to exploring bladder cancer diving deep into these topics have made it possible for us to properly understand how deadly of a disease cancer could be, it has as well opened our eyes to the available possible treatment to the disease, even if there is no cure yet.

In this post, we will be checking out a more serious cancer condition, which is liver cancer. Have you heard about liver cancer before, do you understand how serious it is, or are you hearing about it for the first time? Regardless of the category you fall into, just relax as I unveil all we need to know about the topic.

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Liver cancer, is a form of cancer, which begins in the liver cell, the liver is an internal organ, with a football-size, sitting comfortably at the upper right area of the abdomen found underneath the diaphragm and above the stomach region. Liver cancer comes in different forms, each type of primary liver cancer, corresponds to the type of affected liver cell. Primary liver cancer can either begin to grow as a single lump in the liver, or it can start in many places within the liver at the same time.

Liver cancer occurs when the DNA of the healthy liver cell is affected, DNA is responsible for transporting the genes that informs the cell on how well to function, the information passed, tells the cells when it is time for growth, multiplication and eventual death. When there is DNA mutation, the cell gets freshly informed, when the virus affects the liver cells, the cell DNA also gets affected, making the possibility of having healthy liver cells turn into cancerous cell highly possible.

One could have a early liver cancer condition without having any symptom, the sure way to determine the presence of liver cancer in its early stage is through a proper medical test, but as time goes on, other symptoms of liver cancer becomes more visible, hepatocellular carcinoma and cholangiocarcinoma, usually have similar symptoms, but generally the visible symptoms of cancer are;

Abdominal pain.
Nausea.
Vomiting.
Back pain.
Fever.
Unplanned weight loss.
Enlarged spleen, enlarged liver or even the both, in some cases.
Itching.
Absence of appetite.
Pain felt beside the right shoulder blade.
Swelling of the abdomen.
Swollen veins visible under the abdominal skin.
Bleeding and visible bruises.

From the listed numbers of primary liver cancer that exists, there are four major types of primary liver cancer;

Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC): Another name for this type of primary liver cell is, hepatoma. This type of primary liver cancer is extremely common, as it makes around 85-90% of the available primary liver cancer. HCC grows in the hepatocytes, the hepatocytes are the main cells that make up the liver. The possibility of this form of primary liver cancer, usually occur in people with a long-term condition of hepatitis or cirrhosis, cirrhosis is another form of liver damage caused by;

A long term excessive alcohol intake.
Hepatitis B or hepatitis C infection.
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

Cholangiocarcinoma: Also referred to as, bile duct cancer, it is a more rare form of liver cancer compared to hepatocellular carcinoma, it grows in a small, tube-like ducts present in the liver, the ducts are responsible for the carriage of bile into the gallbladder to help speed up the process of digestion. Developed ducts can either develop inside or outside the liver, when the cancer develops in the section of the duct found inside the liver, it is referred to as- intrahepatic bile duct cancer and on the other hand, when cancer cells begins to grow in the ducts found outside the liver cells, it is referred to as - extrahepatic bile duct cancer.

Liver angiosarcoma: This is a more rare form of liver cancer which begins in the blood vessels of the liver, this cancer type grows really fast, this makes it easily diagnosed as a more advanced form of liver cancer.

Hepatoblastoma: This is also a very rare form of primary liver cancer, in most cases, it is found in children usually under age 3, but with proper chemotherapy and surgery, the possibility of hepatoblastoma been treated is high.

Hepatocellular carcinoma and cholangiocarcinoma, have been noticed to affect more women than men, usually those within the age group of 55 and 64 are affected, it was also discovered that the people who come from Asian/pacific/island, American Indian, Alaskan Indian region are usually affected as well.

The progression of liver cancer can be categorized into four stages;

In the first stage of liver cancer, the tumor remains in the liver without spreading to other organs or other locations of the body.
The second stage of liver cancer, has other small tumors that remains in the liver or one other tumor that has gotten to the blood vessel.
The third stage of liver cancer, entails different large tumors or just one tumor that has gotten to the main, large blood vessel.
The fourth stage of liver cancer has the cancer metastasized, at this stage the cancer has spread to the other parts of the body.

The main and real cause of liver cancer has not yet been diagnosed, there are however, certain factors that can increase the risk of liver cancer development.

Age factor - Liver cancer is common in older people.
Ethnicity and race - Liver cancer is less common amongst white people, it is more common amongst American Indian and Alaska Native's.
Excessive alcohol intake: Drinking excessively over a long period would increase your risk of liver cancer.
Smoking also increase your risk of liver cancer.
Get vaccinated for hepatitis B.
Take measures to prevent hepatitis C.
Exposure to Aflotoxin: Aflotoxin is a toxic substance produced by a type of mold that grows on grains, corn and peanuts. Laws handling food regulations, have strict measures over food exposed to Aflotoxin, little wonder why liver cancer is reduced in this region, more than other regions who care less about the presence of these chemical substances.
Anabolic steroids: Anabolic steroids are a typical form of artificial testosterone, the long term use of these steroids, increases your chances of developing liver cancer.
Generally, live a healthy lifestyle.

As previously mentioned, an appropriate medical test is the best and safe option to identify the presence of liver cancer. The available test procedures include;

Liver function test: This test type makes it possible for the doctors to determine the health condition of your liver by adequately measuring the level of protein present, the presence of liver enzymes as well as the bilirubin in the blood.
Alpha-fetoprotein test (AFP): The presence of AFP in the blood, is a good sign for liver cancer, AFP is a type of protein, usually only produced in the liver as well as the yolk sac of a developing fetus.
Imaging test: This is a test option that involves, CT scans, MRI scans and Abdominal ultrasounds, this scans produce detailed images of the liver and other organs in the abdominal region, making it easy for the doctor to identify where a tumor is growing, it would also help determine the size of the tumor as well as help identify if the cancer has already spread to other available organs.
Liver biopsy: This method is often used after the doctor has checked other available test results and the cause of the condition is still not certain, a biopsy would be used to determine the depth of the disease. The procedure is done by taking out a little piece of the liver tissue, often done with the use of anesthesia to prevent the feeling of pain during the procedure. Liver biopsy procedure could be in the form of; needle biopsy, laparoscopic biopsy and surgical biopsy.

The treatment of liver cancer is greatly dependent on the number, size and the location of the tumors in your liver, a treatment plan is also dependent on the functional ability of the liver, the presence of cirrhosis and if the cancer has spread to other organs of the body.

Available treatment options for liver cancer are;

Partial hepatectomy: The procedure is performed through the removal of a portion of the liver, this procedure is often used for the treatment of early stage liver cancer. Once this procedure is carried out, the remaining healthy tissue would grow on its own, replacing the missing liver part.
Liver transplant: This treatment option involves the removal of the entire liver and replacing it with a healthy liver from a compatible donor, a transplant may only be a suitable option if the cancer has not spread to other organs, medications are given to patients after the transplant to prevent the body from rejecting the new implanted liver.

*Ablation: This treatment involves the use of heat, ethanol injections and cooling effects to destroy cancer cells. The procedure is done with the help of a local anesthesia, the local anesthesia numbs the affected region to prevent the feeling of pain.

Radiation therapy: This treatment option involves the use of beams of high-energy radiation to destroy cancer cells. The radiation beam can either be internal or external, the external beam is focused on body parts where cancer is located, while internal radiation involves the insertion process of a small amount of radioactive material directly into the cancer affected region or close to the cancer region.
Chemotherapy: This is a form of drug therapy designed to destroy cancer cells, the medicated are injected either through the vein or intravenously. It is usually a treatment option when other lower therapy options are not working well.
Targeted therapy: This procedure involves the use of medications to reduce tumor growth and the supply of blood. The medications taken are used in the treatment of only cancer cells, compared to chemotherapy or radiation, this is however not to say that, the medications would not come with its own side effects.
Immunotherapy: This is a cancer treatment option using body's immune system. Immunotherapy drugs would help the body regonize and destroy the availability of every cancer cell.

Conclusion.

Early detection of liver cancer is treatable, especially when it has not spread to other organs of the body, but living with liver cancer can be extremely overwhelming, connecting with people who can help you handle the anxiety, stress and other associated feelings that come with it is very important. A counsellor may be able to help you through your emotions, the treatments linked with liver cancer could have associated side effects that may affect patients, after treatment procedure, and of course, a medical expert would give advise through the possible side effects and how it can be managed.