Liver cancer is a life-threatening disease that can be extremely devastating to anyone who is afflicted with it as well as those around him. Anyone experiencing symptoms associated with cancer of the liver should seek medical care at the soonest possible time. Symptoms of cancer of the liver are not usually recognizable as a manifestation of the disease as they are not unusual - loss of appetite and weight, abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting, and general weakness. Those who experience extreme symptoms like abdominal swelling and yellowish discoloration of skin and eyes would most likely be in the advance stages of liver cancer. Medical care for anyone afflicted with cancer of the liver is a must.

Primary liver cancer instances in the United States are increasing over the years as are metastatic cancer or cancer that spreads to the liver from other parts of the body. These cancers are not labelled as liver cancer but as metastatic cancer of whatever organ they originated from (i.e. metastatic colon cancer for cancer of the colon spreading into the liver). Treatment for these types of cancers are done in the originating organ rather than in the liver itself. In extreme cases or cases where the cancer can no longer be treated, medical care and pain management procedures are done to maintain a patient's quality of life.

Depending on what stage the cancer is, primary liver cancer can be treated to either remove or slow down the development of the disease. Common treatment procedures would include surgery, alcohol injection, radiofrequency ablation, chemoembolization, radiation therapy, and liver transplant. With surgery, otherwise called as surgical resection, the area where the cancer cells are found is completely removed. This treatment is recommended for those with cirrhosis of the liver. Surgery is not guaranteed to stop the development of cancer as it can still recur in the remaining liver or in other areas of the body within a few years. Liver transplantation is another surgical procedure that can be considered for those in the early stages of cancer but not for those with larger tumors.

Drug-based treatments such as alcohol injection, chemoembolization, and chemotherapy can also be done to kill the cancer cells. Alcohol injection uses pure alcohol that is injected directly into the tumors to dry out the cancer cells and eventually kill them. This has been known to increase the survival rate of those who have hapatocellular tumors. Chemoembolization and chemotherapy, on the other hand, introduce anti-cancer drugs into the body either systemically or directly to the liver. Chemotherapy is not entirely effective in most cases as is chemoembolization since it only works to shrink the tumors in most patients.

Radiofrequency ablation and radiation therapy makes use of electric current and energy beams in destroying cancer cells. Unresectable hepatocellular tumors are targeted by these procedures. Both procedures are more effective than drug treatments in treating malignant cells although they also pose higher risks in terms of complications.

Anyone who has been diagnosed with liver cancer should not brush it off. The earlier the cancer is detected and treatment is commenced, the better it is for the patient. Liver cancer patients should seek the right medical care for their affliction.



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