Daily Health Tips

Posts Tagged ‘Cancer’

To make a diagnosis of liver cancer, the doctor suggests a medical history, physical examination done carefully and orders some tests.

• Blood tests are used to see how well the liver. They can also be used to verify the existence of tumor markers, which are substances that are frequently found in abnormal amounts in patients with liver cancer. The tumor marker alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) may be useful to aid in the diagnosis of liver cancer. About 50 to 70 percent of people with primary liver cancer have elevated levels of AFP. However, other cancers such as germ cell cancer and in some cases, cancer of the stomach and pancreas also cause elevated AFP levels.
• Radiographs of the chest and abdomen, angiograms (x-rays of blood vessels), the CT scans (x-rays put together by computer) and magnetic resonance images (images created by using a magnetic field) can all be part of the diagnostic process.
• The liver scans using radioactive materials can help identify abnormal areas in the liver.
• The presence of liver cancer is confirmed with a biopsy. Is removed (through a needle or during surgery) from liver tissue (biopsy sample) and examined under a microscope to see whether cancer cells are present. The doctor may also look at the liver with an instrument called a laparoscope, which is a small instrument shaped tube with a light at one end. For this procedure, make a small incision in the abdomen to insert the laparoscope. The doctor may remove a small piece of tissue during laparoscopy. A pathologist then examines the tissue under a microscope to see whether cancer cells are present.

Primary liver cancer is difficult to detect at an early stage because its early symptoms are usually vague. As with other types of cancer, this disease can cause a general feeling of poor health. Liver cancer can lead to loss of appetite, weight loss, fever, fatigue and weakness.
As the cancer grows, pain may be present in the upper abdomen on the right side and may extend to the back and shoulder. Some people may feel a mass in the upper abdomen. Liver cancer can also lead to abdominal swelling and a feeling of fullness or bloating. Some people have episodes of fever and nausea or develop jaundice, a condition in which the skin and whites of the eyes become yellow and the urine becomes dark.
It is important to note that these symptoms may be caused by primary or metastatic cancer in the liver, a benign (not cancerous) in the liver or other less serious conditions. Only a doctor can tell for sure.

The liver, the organ of the human body larger without the skin, is located below the ribs on right side of the abdomen.

Its main functions include the filtration of blood and the elimination of toxic wastes and the production of enzymes that help digest food, converting them into substances needed for the proper functioning of the body. Some nutrients have to be chemically altered (metabolized) in the liver before the rest of the body can use as energy source. The liver produces some of the clotting factors that prevent the blood is too liquid and also secretes bile to the intestine to help absorb nutrients.

The liver is divided into three lobes, the right, the left and a smaller one called square, which in turn are subdivided into segments. Unlike most other organs of the body receives blood from two sources. The hepatic artery supplies the liver with blood rich in oxygen while the portal vein carries nutrient-rich blood from the intestines. All blood from the digestive tract through the liver before it reaches the rest of the body, making it a sort of ‘office’ from the outside world.