The liver is the largest internal organ in our body, it functions to dismantle and store most of the nutrients absorbed by the intestine for the body’s needs. Some nutrients need to be changed in the liver before they can be used as energy or to build and repair body tissues. The liver needs to be taken care of properly by taking care of nutrition, otherwise the chances for the liver to be attacked by cancer are high. There are two types of liver cancer that have been identified, among them are:
Primary Liver Cancer |
Primary (primary) liver cancer is a type of cancer that forms inside the liver itself and is not infected from cancer cells from the outside. This condition occurs when there is a change in the normal cells in the liver become abnormal due to the increase of toxic substances beyond the ability that can be processed by the liver, this will create cancer cells that are destructive to the entire liver and can spread to nearby organs. The malignant cells that develop in the liver are known as hepatocellular carcinoma while the cancer that exists in the liver ducts is called cholangiocarcinoma.
Metastatic Liver Cancer |
In contrast to primary liver cancer, metastatic liver cancer is cancer that starts from other organs in the body first before spreading to the liver through blood vessels. The cancers that usually attack the liver are breast, colon, bladder, kidney, ovarian, pancreas, stomach, cervical and lung cancers.
Signs of Liver Cancer |
-
Jaundice – yellow signs appear on the skin, tongue and whites of the eyes.
-
Unusual abdominal pain – usually pain on the right side of the abdomen, and the pain can be felt up to the shoulder for no apparent reason.
-
Losing weight – the body will experience weight loss not due to exercise, diet or the like.
-
Flatulence – enlarged liver also known as Hepatomegaly.
-
Back pain – it is related to cancer cells that are spreading.
-
Frequent nausea, vomiting, fever and fatigue.