1 week Ago By [email protected] (Elaine Blackburne)
A cancer which is preventable in almost half of cases is killing thousands of people in the UK every year. Cancer Research UK figures show around 6,579 people are diagnosed with liver cancer every year - that is roughly 18 every day. Just 8% of people with the disease will survive 10 years or more - that is less than one in 10 - with the disease killing 5,830 every year.
But by taking some simple steps almost half of these cases - 48% - could be prevented. Yet rather than seeing the numbers of people with it fall it has been the opposite. According to the charity the number of people getting the disease in the UK has increased by 42% over the last decade.
And it is now warning there could be 9,700 cases of the cancer being diagnosed every year by 2038-40. Surgical oncologist Joseph Kim, M.D .
at the UK Markey Cancer Center says there are several risk factors associated with developing liver cancer. And he has outlined his six key steps that can be taken to prevent people developing it. Hepatitis B vaccine The hepatitis B virus attacks the liver.
Many infected people don’t experience any symptoms until decades later, when the disease has progressed. It’s often called the “silent epidemic” for this reason. Most people get a vaccine to prevent hepatitis B infection when they’re newborns.
Research has shown that this vaccination lowers the risk of liver cancer in children. It is not known yet if this vaccination also lowers the risk of liver cancer in adults. The vaccine is also available to adults in a different dosage.
Get treatment for chronic hepatitis B infection The treatment for chronic HBV infection can include interferon and nucleos(t)ide analog therapy. These two treatments may reduce your risk of developing liver cancer. Prevent the spread of hepatitis C There is no vaccine for HCV, but there are treatments that can cure most people.
Most new infections progress to long-term infections. The best way to prevent HCV is by avoiding behaviors that can spread the disease, like sharing needles or syringes, engaging in sexual activity with a person who’s infected with HCV or getting unregulated tattoos or body piercings. Testing is the first step to know more about your health.
If you have HCV, talk to your doctor right away to start treatment. Maintain a healthy liver Cirrhosis is severe scarring of the liver and can be caused by hepatitis or chronic alcoholism. The damage generally can’t be undone, but, if caught early, can by treated and further damage can be limited.
Limit alcohol use Cirrhosis caused by heavy alcohol use is a risk factor for liver cancer. Liver cancer can also occur in heavy alcohol users who do not have cirrhosis. People who are heavy alcohol users with cirrhosis are 10 times more likely to develop liver cancer than heavy alcohol users who do not have cirrhosis.
Stop smoking In addition to alcohol use, cigarette smoking has been linked to a higher risk of liver cancer. The risk increases with the number of cigarettes smoked per day and the number of years the person has smoked. Symptoms of Liver Cancer According to the NHS "liver cancer may not have any symptoms, or they might be hard to spot".
They are the same if the liver cancer starts in the liver (primary liver cancer) or spreads from another part of the body (secondary liver cancer). Symptoms of liver cancer can include: the whites of your eyes turning yellow or your skin turning yellow, which may be less obvious on brown or black skin ( jaundice ) – you may also have itchy skin, darker pee and paler poo than usual loss of appetite or losing weight without trying to feeling tired or having no energy feeling generally unwell or having symptoms like flu a lump in the right side of your tummy Other symptoms can affect your digestion, such as: feeling or being sick pain at the top right side of your tummy or in your right shoulder symptoms of indigestion , such as feeling full very quickly when eating a very swollen tummy that is not related to when you eat When to see a doctor Ask for an urgent GP appointment or get help from NHS 111 if: your skin or the whites of your eyes turn yellow you're being sick for more than 2 days Experts at 111 will tell you what to do. They can arrange a phone call from a nurse or doctor if you need one.
You can call 111 or get help from 111 online . See a GP if you have a lump in your tummy lost a lot of weight without trying symptoms of liver cancer that get worse or do not get better after 2 weeks.
