Signs And Symptoms Of Liver Cancer

Football is a wonderful game. The joy from the players and even the audience is clear! Many people toss footballs around even when they aren’t watching a football game. Some even have informal games before big family dinners! But have you ever paid attention to the size of a football? A standard football happens to be about the same size as the average adult liver. The liver is a vital organ in the body. It breaks down toxins in the blood and ensures the body stays clean. It’s also the organ that helps the body deal with alcohol!

However, the liver can also have to deal with a condition like liver cancer. It can be either primary liver cancer or secondary liver cancer. The difference? Where the cancer starts! The great news, however, is there are many ways to manage liver cancer, including both traditional and alternative treatment for liver cancer. The liver can also be supported by taking liver health supplements!

Of course, all of this starts with having a sharp eye and identifying the symptoms of liver cancer. Throw the football and dive in!

Jaundice

The easiest sign of liver cancer to spot is jaundice. What makes it so easy? People will essentially turn yellow! Either their skin will take on a yellow-tinge or the whites of their eyes will go a bit yellow. This is due to bilirubin in the liver. This substance is normally removed from the body through urine and waste. But liver cancer often prevents this from happening, thus causing a build-up of bilirubin in the body. The good news, at least, is that it’s rare for a tumor to grow enough to obstruct bile from the liver to the small intestine. But when it does? Jaundice occurs! Of course, since jaundice is easy to spot, it is also fairly unsightly. Taking control of jaundice early will help those affected get back to looking good sooner!

Loss Of Appetite

A standard football is fairly large. Imagine a football sitting directly on top of the stomach. This is already happening, because remember, that’s the size of the average adult liver! When liver cancer interferes with the liver, the liver can enlarge and go through other changes that end up compressing the stomach. If the stomach is compressed, it cannot hold as much food as it did before. This often causes people to feel full faster. They will then start eating very little or even nothing at all. They will have lost their appetite! But yet again, this symptom is fairly easy to spot, especially for those who love to eat normally.

The buildup of toxins in the body due to the impaired liver function in liver cancer can also cause a loss of appetite. Toxins in the body like this make it no fun to eat. They’ll cause other symptoms like nausea and vomiting! Of course, a loss of appetite is yet another reason why people will find they lose weight unexpectedly if they have liver cancer.

Unexpected Weight Loss

Men are the most at risk of developing liver cancer. In fact, they account for twice the number of cases of this cancer in the United States than women. This is good news for women, but not so much for men. That said, liver cancer has yet another symptom it is fairly easy for men to spot. Many men want to bulk up and look strong. So when they see something like unexpected weight loss, their brain and smarts will start tingling. They will know something is wrong! The earlier their radar goes up, the better it is for them to get help.

Liver cancer causes fat and muscle wasting because of its role in fat digestion. Bile, which we know the liver produces, helps break down fats so the intestines can absorb them. The breakdown allows the body to use them! Liver cancer interferes with this process and can prevent the production of enough bile or even prevent bile from reaching the small intestine. This means fats will exit the body through poop without being absorbed. The liver also produces proteins that help transport fat, and when fat cannot be transported through the body, it cannot be absorbed! All of this can result in weight loss, especially without trying.

White And Chalky Poop

Another big visual symptom of liver cancer is white and chalky poop. Normally poop is brown, right? This is because of bile, which we already know is also responsible for fat digestion. When bile and the liver are compromised, poop will lose its brown color, often turning light or even white! Definitely not a great look. The chalkiness comes, once again, due to the lack of bile. Liver cancer starts to appear in this way if the cancer compromises the bile duct by growing into or around it. This is what stops bile from draining into the small intestine, preventing it from reaching poop effectively.

Abdominal Swelling

Clearly, liver cancer has many visual symptoms, and this one is no different. Abdominal swelling is yet another sign of liver cancer. This is especially so when other symptoms are present! The swelling in the abdomen occurs because of the liver enlarging due to the tumor. Cirrhosis of the liver is often also present, and these two factors can increase the pressure in the liver. This prevents sufficient blood from flowing through the veins, causing a backup to occur. The backup triggers fluid to leak from the veins to tissues. This often takes place around the peritoneum, which contains the liver. This fluid buildup and pooling of blood in this area will cause abdominal swelling. Liver cancer also affects the lymph vessels that are supposed to drain extra fluid and prevents them from doing their job.