Understanding Liver Cancer: Causes, Symptoms, and Prevention Tips
Doctor explains key facts about liver cancer, including causes, symptoms, and risk factors. Learn about primary and secondary liver cancer, potential signs to watch for, and proactive steps for prevention.
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Topic Breakdown
In this video, we're going to cover key things that you need to know about liver cancer, including causes, possible signs, and symptoms. All of the following sections are time-stamped and split into chapters. Liver cancer is a type of cancer that's found anywhere in the liver, which is the large organ located at the top right side of your abdomen. The liver plays a crucial role in digesting your food and removing toxins from your body.
Liver cancer can sometimes originate in your liver, in which case it's referred to as primary liver cancer. Alternatively, it can spread to the liver from another organ that has cancer, such as the skin, in which case it's referred to as secondary liver cancer. The seriousness of liver cancer depends on several factors: its location in the liver, its size, whether it has spread, if it is primary or secondary, and your overall health.
Now, let's discuss some potential symptoms and signs of liver cancer. Liver cancer may not always present symptoms, or they may be hard to spot. However, if you notice any of the following signs, it is important to speak to your healthcare provider:
1. The whites of your eyes turning yellow or your skin turning yellow, which may be less obvious on brown or black skin. This is known as jaundice.
2. Itchy skin, darker urine, and paler stools than usual.
3. Loss of appetite or losing weight without trying, especially if you lose more than 5% of your normal weight over 6 to 12 months.
4. Feeling excessively tired or having no energy.
5. A lump in the right side of your abdomen.
Other symptoms of liver cancer can also affect your digestion, including:
1. Persistent nausea or vomiting.
2. Pain at the top right side of your abdomen or in your right shoulder.
3. Symptoms of indigestion, such as feeling full very quickly when eating.
4. A very swollen abdomen that is not related to eating.
It's important to note that these signs and symptoms can be caused by other issues with the liver or other parts of the body and are not necessarily specific to liver cancer. Just because you have these signs or symptoms does not necessarily mean you have liver cancer, but it is always best to consult with your doctor. They can take a full history, conduct a clinical examination, and order further tests if needed. If your symptoms are being caused by cancer, finding it early may mean it's easier to treat.
To assist you, Cancer Research UK has put together some top tips for things you might want to write down to help you remember what to say when you go see your doctor. These tips can help you make the most out of your appointment. I've included these tips on the screen and also put them in the description box of the video.
Now, let's briefly discuss some of the potential causes of liver cancer. Anyone can get primary liver cancer, and it's not always clear what causes it. However, you may be more likely to develop it if you're over 60, with it being most common in people over 85. Men are also at a higher risk. Certain medical conditions such as hepatitis, liver cirrhosis, gallstones, diabetes, a parasite in the liver known as liver flukes, or HIV can increase your risk. Having a family history of primary liver cancer or having cancer in another part of the body can also be risk factors.
Many liver cancers are also linked to lifestyle factors such as heavy alcohol intake or smoking. While you can't always prevent liver cancer, there are some proactive steps you can take. These include trying to lose weight if you're overweight, wearing protective clothing and masks if you work in a job where you're exposed to harmful chemicals, avoiding drinking more than 14 units of alcohol a week, and trying to quit smoking if you smoke.
If your doctor suspects that you might have liver cancer, they will likely organize some tests to investigate further and may refer you to a specialist at the hospital. These tests can include blood tests, scans such as an ultrasound, CT scan, or MRI. If you're seen by a specialist at the hospital, they may also collect a small sample of cells from the liver, known as a biopsy, to be checked for cancer. You may not have all of these tests, and if you've already had another kind of cancer, the specialist might think it has spread to your liver, indicating secondary liver cancer. In such cases, you may also have a PET scan. These tests can help identify problems in your bile duct, pancreas, or gallbladder.
When it comes to treatment, it will depend on a variety of factors and will be individualized. Therefore, I won't go into detail about this in this video. However, I have included some useful resources and links to the NHS website, Cancer Research UK, and the Cleveland Clinic website, which outline general treatment options. These options can range from surgery, chemotherapy, using heat to destroy the cancer known as thermal ablation, targeted medicines, and radiotherapy. These websites contain much more information on these treatments, and specific treatments will depend on the size and type of liver cancer, its location, whether it has spread, and your overall health, among other factors.
Please leave a comment if you have any questions or want to share your own experiences or general thoughts to help others. If you’re looking to scale your medical brand on YouTube or are interested in sponsoring these videos with your products, please reach out to book a consultation. Thanks for watching.
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