Question 1

is liver cancer painful?

Accepted Answer

Not usually: Liver cancer is usually not painful. The condition that leads to liver cancer (chronic hepatitis/cirrhosis) can cause vague pain in the right upper quadrant of the belly.  Most liver cancer is picked up in asymptomatic patients by lab tests or by scans. Occasionally a patient will have painless yellowing of the skin due to liver cancer.

Question 2

symptoms of liver cancer?

Accepted Answer

Varies : Most of the time there will be no symptoms until cancer becomes big enough to cause problems. U may turn yellow along w really dark urine, fatigue, swollen abdomen, legs etc....

Question 3

is liver cancer hereditary?

Accepted Answer

It can be: Many factors can increase one's risk for primary liver cancer including: chronic infection with hepatitis b or c virus, type 2 diabetes, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, heavy alcohol use, obesity, exposure to certain toxins, and inherited liver diseases that can lead to cirrhosis such as hemochromatosis, wilson's disease, tyrosinemia, Alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency, glycogen, and porphyria.

Question 4

how common is liver cancer?

Accepted Answer

Depends on geography: And cancer type.  Primary liver cancer is not common in the usa, but it is the most frequent cancer in areas with high prevalence of hepatitis b infection.  If metastatic liver cancers are included, then liver cancer is common even in the usa.

Question 5

what exactly is liver cancer?

Accepted Answer

Tumor mass: Liver involved with different malignancies.  A liver cancer should be related to  cancer arising in liver cells and not cells that have spread to  the liver from  different forms of cancer.  A primary liver tumor can arise from  hepatitis B and C with induction thru a cirrhotic process.  Other causes are from blood vessel lesions, and various primary sarcomas as well as tumors arising in bile duct

Question 6

what is stage 5 liver cancer?

Accepted Answer

There are only 4 : Cancer is generally divided into five stages, from stage 0, in which the presence of irregular or cancer cells are known, to stage iv, in which the cancer has spread to one or several other parts of the body. The higher the number of cancer staging, the more difficult the cancer is to treat due to the progression and spread of cancer cells. According to the national comprehensive cancer network, .

Question 7

how can i treat liver cancer?

Accepted Answer

Options: The preferred treatment options for early cases are surgical removal and in selected patients liver transplants- these have the best results. For more advanced cases chemotherapy infused into the liver or oral drugs such as sorafenib can be used.

Question 8

how can liver cancer be cured?

Accepted Answer

Depends: Hepatocellular cancer can be cured in some patients who have limited resectable disease or who qualify for transplantation.  Transplant is typically only offered to patients who have single tumors less than 5cm in size or up to 3 less than 3cm.  Other techniques like ablation and chemoembolization sometimes work, but have less chance at achieving a cure.  Multidisciplinary review is recommended.

Question 9

is liver cancer hard to diagnose?

Accepted Answer

Not really: A cancer that begins in the liver is usually related to hepatitis c or b, or other forms of liver injury. The ultrasound, ct scan and MRI are usually very good. There also is a blood test called an Alpha feto protein that is very helpful.
The tricky part is to find it early so that it canc be treated. Many people with liver injury are screened with a blood test and ultrasound or ct scan.

Question 10

what can i expect from liver cancer?

Accepted Answer

Nothing good: Liver cancer often arises in the background of liver cirrhosis due to alcohol, hepatitis c, hemochromatosis etc. A small number of liver cancers may be curable with resection or liver transplant, but generally the prognosis is not good.

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