Liver cancer symptoms in men

The liver is an organ that is placed in the upper right part of the abdomen, above the stomach and beneath the diaphragm and it is one of the most important organs in the human body. Therefore, any disease that affects it must be taken seriously and needs to be promptly cured. Liver cancer affects the cells of the liver. This type of cancer is not unusual, but sometimes it occurs when the cancer is extended from some other region to the liver, for instance, when the cancer begins in the lungs or colon and then spreads to the liver. In such cases, it is called metastatic cancer rather than liver cancer.Liver Cancer is a Very Serious Medical Condition

The liver cancer may be induced by a chronic infection caused by certain hepatitis viruses. In relation to the types of cancerous cells, liver cancer can be classified into four types. The most frequent is hepatocellular carcinoma, which starts in the main liver cells called hepatocytes. Cholangiocarcinoma is a type of liver cancer that affects first tube-like bile ducts in the liver. Moreover, the type of liver cancer that affects children younger than 4 and that can be successfully treated if it is noticed on time is called hepatoblastoma. Angiosarcoma, also called hemangiosarcoma, is an uncommon type of liver cancer, which begins in the liver blood vessels.Typically, the liver cancer does not show the symptoms of its presence in the early stages and this is the main reason why it is hard to spot liver cancer symptoms in men. Afterwards, when they appear, the most common are the loss of weight and loss of appetite. If a person is losing weight and they are not on a diet it is possible that they suffer from some serious illness.In addition, a person who suffers from liver cancer may experience pain in the upper abdomen and can also experience abdominal swelling. Abdominal swelling occurs because the liver is growing as the result of the cancer, or due to the retention of fluid in abdomen, which is medically called ascites. The fluid remains in the abdomen because the congested liver presses the blood vessels and the blood is thus backed up in the veins. Therefore, the fluid leaks from the veins into the abdomen.Enlarged breasts are pretty common in men who suffer from liver cancer. The breasts may become as large as in women and very painful to touch. Furthermore, nausea, vomiting and jaundice are also some of the warning signs of liver cancer in men. Weariness, fatigue and exhaustion are also considered to be the symptoms of this disease. Is Liver Transplant one of the Solutions for Liver Cancer?

The most important functions of liver are storing fats and hydrolising, red blood cells decomposition, as well as detoxification. When all this is taken into consideration, it is obvious that this organ is extremely important when it comes to the proper functioning of the metabolism. However, on the other hand, there also exist numerous conditions that can hinder the proper functioning of the liver and cause unwanted damage. Among the most severe conditions and illnesses that can affect the liver to a great extent are hepatitis, cirrhosis and liver tumor. Spotting the liver cancer symptoms in men is important in order for the treatment to be conducted in the early stages. In case, any of the previously mentioned illnesses make progress and advance to a critical point, despite the medical treatment and conventional surgery, the last option a person has is the transplantation of the liver. There are a lot of factors and causes which affect the life expectancy of a person who had a liver transplant. Among those most prominent ones is the fact that the entire concept of liver transplantation is still in its “youth”, i.e. developmental phase. Therefore, in the recent years numerous research studies have been conducted aiming at comprehending the entire matter better and more profoundly and thus they come to some definite answers and conclusion related to the overall life expectancy. The factor that is considered to be vital is the post-transplantation time frame. What has been confirmed so far is that those children who manage to withstand the first year after the procedure has been done, live long into the adulthood. As for the adults, no such clear cut rule exists since there have been recorded cases in which people were just unable to endure and deal with the post-operational complications with success, whereas others who were able, live much longer.

Affecting Factors

Even though the liver is considered to be the second most vital body organ, right after kidneys, people must understand that not every person suffering from certain liver related illness will qualify for the transplantation. Those people who have damaged liver because of the alcohol or drug abuse, or due to the presence of cancer that has progressed and taken control over other organs, as well as due to progressive lung and heart illnesses, HIV or sepsis, unfortunately do not fall into the qualifying category. As for those who do manage to get another chance, they have to be extremely careful and pay a lot of attention, especially when post-operational care is in question, for this is vital for their recovery.