Liver cancer is differentiated from other cancers which invade the liver from other parts of the body in that it starts in the liver itself. It consists of malignant growths that grow in or on the liver itself.
The first form of liver cancer is hepatocellular carcinoma. This is usually found in children and young people. The prognosis is that the victim usually lives from three to six months after the cancer is discovered.
Symptoms of this kind of cancer include abdominal masses, abdominal pain, vomiting, anemia, that is a decrease in the amount of red blood cells that would usually be found in the body, back pain, jaundice, unexplainable weight loss and fever.
Treatments for this can be a partial hepatectomy, that is a partial removal of the liver, a liver transplant, cyroablation, that is using extreme cold to remove the tissue, chemotherapy, and some sort of radiotherapy.
Hepatoblastoma is another form of this cancer which usually attacks children.
Treatments for this form of cancer include liver transplant, partial removal of the liver, various forms of chemotherapy and radiation therapy.
Cholangiocarcinoma is the form of cancer that is accountable for one or two percent out of every ten liver cancers. It usually forms in the bile ducts, which are the small tubes responsible for carrying bile to the intestines.
Symptoms of this kind of cancer are jaundice, abdominable pain, unexplainable weight loss and an enlargement of the liver.
Treatments for this form of cancer include such methods as photodynamic therapy, that is using a combination of a photosensitizer, light and tissue oxygen, various forms of radiation therapy and liver transplant.
Angiosarcoma and hemangiosarcoma are two forms of liver cancer which start in the blood vessels of the liver. By the time that they are discovered, they are usually too far advanced to be combated and the victim usually dies within a year or so after the discovery of the malignancy.
In the case of either of these kind of cancers, rather than combating the cancers, medications are given to help the victim to enjoy the quality of the life that is left to them, combating the sickness that they feel and in some cases being able to prolong the length of the time they have left to live.
Liver cancer, in all of its various forms, is a nasty thing; don't let it dirty you up. See to it that you and your family follow your doctor's recommended schedule for regular checkups. Don't let liver cancer take away your life.
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