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November 22, 2009
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Patient Discussions: Liver Cancer - Describe Your Experience

Liver Cancer - Describe Your Experience

The MedicineNet physician editors ask:

Please describe your experience with liver cancer.

Comment submissions for this question have ended. Patient Discussions FAQs


Related Article: Liver Cancer

The following Patient Discussions have not been medically reviewed. See additional information.



Comment from: Beebosmommie, 55-64 Female (Caregiver)

My sister at age 56 was diagnosed with Stage 4 Advanced Adenocarcinoma Liver Cancer from an unknown primary in September. She passed away 4 months later. The cancer ate right through the many rounds of chemotherapy she was given. It was so aggressive. It has been said that people who live in 3rd world countries are at a higher risk of developing this type of cancer because they don't have access to the advanced medical care that people in the United States easily have. My sister was an American living in the United States. How could this happen to someone who was under the care of 3 doctors one of which was an endocrinologist, a gastroenterologist and an internist? How does this type of cancer go undetected? Had she not gone to her internist complaining of her side hurting and that doctor doing an X-ray of her ribs and a CT scan, she would not have known she had this cancer. The CT scan picked up the top of her liver which showed the tumors. Her doctor told her that this cancer had been growing for at least 1 year. How did it run under the radar? The doctor's explanation was it's like a submarine, it lays low for a long time and then all of a sudden it decides to attack and by then it's too late. Well can't they do a blood test to determine if you have a submarine laying at the bottom of your ocean? Needless to say, my sister suffered a horrendous death. We finally had to decide to have the hospice people sedate her to put her out of her painful misery. No one should have to suffer a horrendous death like that. For heaven's sake they put dogs and cats down with more compassion. Published: March 19 ::

Comment from: leslie lara, 35-44 Male (Caregiver)

My husband just passed away from hepatocellular carcinoma. He was diagnosed in August and passed away a year later in March. I can tell you this it is one of the most awful things I had ever experienced in my life, he did not know anything was wrong until he got hurt at work and started having trouble breathing. We thought he just had a cold, It was stage 4 by the time they found it. It is a silent killer in the last 3 day's of his life what killed him was complications due to the liver shutting down In most patients it spread's to other parts of the body. My husbands had spread from the liver to his ribs, spine, shoulder and brain. He also had no risk factors for the disease he never drank or had hep A, B or C, so it hits all walks of life. My husband was 43 and left behind 2 little girls ages 7 and 8. Please get regular checkups and insist they do complete body scans and blood work including the AFP test, to rule out this deadly form of cancer. Published: March 19 ::

Comment from: gary, 45-54 Male (Patient)

I am a 48 yr old male. Diagnosed with stage two colon cancer, and had a resection of the sigmoid colon - removing 17 inches and a dozen lymph nodes. All was good until my 1 yr colonoscopy/biopsy. It turns out that I have abnormal cells/dysplasia so I got a pet/ct scan which confirmed lesions/tumors on my liver - about 6 of them. So now I am told I have stage 4 colon cancer with liver metastasis. I am not a drinker or smoker and very healthy and fit. I now await a biopsy of the liver and a full pet scan to tell me my fate. The survival rate has to be higher than I am reading. I mean I feel good. so does it just hit me all of the sudden? I have some low back pains, etc, but I am very active. I don’t know, but I have to beat this thing, I just have too. Published: March 16 ::

Comment from: Xmasmiracle, 45-54 Male (Caregiver)

My brother is dying of Cancer; this was shock a shock to my family because in September we had such a Wonderful family Reunion! He looked so good, was not drinking, had lost weight and had been excising regularly! He went to see his doctor for pain thinking it was from excising to find out he had Liver Cancer and 3 tumors, he could not get a transplant due to those factors. The doctors told him he has 6 to 8 months, but I know it's just a matter of time! My sister's just came back from seeing him and was shock to see all the weight he had lost, he can not keep anything down, he's only on Assure, he is jaundice, his stomach is so blotted. He can not even answer our phone calls, work a cell phone or work his favorite computer. This has been the worst Holiday season! All I can do is listen for the phone, because I know it will be bad news. It's so sad because I wanted to grow old with my brother by my side, now I will only have distance memories. Liver cancer is the worst! All I can say if you have a pain on your right side you need to run to your doctors and have him run all kinds of test, because if you do not catch this symptoms early, you will die. I can only hope for a Xmas miracle, or that sleep for him comes swiftly and that he will rest in peace with no more pain, he will surely be missed! Published: January 22 ::

Comment from: tarabell, 35-44 Female

My aunt just informed the family about her liver cancer. She is an alcoholic. She has known for a while now and is in the advanced stages. The cancer has spread to her lungs, colon, and brain. She only has about two months left to live. The disease has progressed at a rapid rate and even without knowing that she had it, her symptoms were there. She has lost a large amount of weight, her sight is almost gone, she sweats a lot, she is paranoid, her stomach is swollen and she walks with a limp. Published: December 15 ::


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What is hepatitis C?

Hepatitis C is an infection of the liver caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV). It is difficult for the human immune system to eliminate the virus from the body, and infection with HCV usually becomes chronic. Over decades, chronic infection with HCV damages the liver and can cause liver failure in some people. In the U.S., the number of new cases of infection with HCV has declined over the last 10 years from a peak of some 200,000 annually to about 19,000 in 2006. When the virus first enters the body, there usually are no symptoms, so these numbers are estimates. Up to 85% of newly infected people fail to clear the virus and become chronically infected. In the U.S., more than three million people are chronically infected with HCV. Infection is most common among people who are 40 to 60 years of age, reflecting the high rates of infection in the 1970s and 1980s. There are 8,000 to 10,000 deaths each year in the U.S. related to ...

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