Hearing that you have liver cancer is never easy. Liver cancer is difficult to diagnose, so the disease is frequently only discovered when it is at an advanced stage. Late diagnoses mean that the long-term survival rate (5 years or more) is only around 30% in cases where surgery is a possible treatment option and 7% when surgery is not possible. Those are the stark statistics, but that doesn't mean you should give up. There are things you can do to help you beat liver cancer as long as you stay in the fight.
Become an Active Patient
Never take a backseat in your own care. From the minute that you are diagnosed, become an informed and vocal member of your treatment team. Cancer survivor Phyllis A. Domm refers to this process as becoming the CEO of your own health team in an article about her experience surviving cancer for Cancer Consultants. Learn everything you can about your disease and the treatment options that are available. Discuss them all with your doctors. If you discover a treatment option or clinical trial that they don't mention to you, bring it up and ask questions. Become the boss of beating your disease.
Don't be passive in your dealings with family and friends either. Let them know what you need, what helps and what doesn't. Get a core group of people you can depend on to help you in both practical terms and in dealing with the emotional side of your disease.
Medical Treatments
Every patient is different, so there is no single road map for treating liver cancer. The options include surgical removal of the cancerous cells in the liver, ablation, chemotherapy, Nexavar (a drug that inhibits cell growth) and liver transplant. Some patients also volunteer for clinical trials for drugs being tested for liver cancer treatment with some success. Your doctor can tell you about trials for which you qualify. Again, be in charge of your treatment team. Your doctors will likely use some combination of these treatments to give you the best chance for survival, so be involved in creating the battle plan.
Healthy Eating
Maintaining a healthy diet is an important part of beating liver cancer and dealing with the sometimes difficult treatments. Loss of appetite is common with liver cancer patients, especially after treatments, but maintaining a healthy weight is a must. Dr. Heather Zwicky recommends avoiding all processed foods and to go organic whenever possible to spare your liver the task of having to break down pesticides and other additives. If you are unable to tolerate solid food, nutritional shakes make a good substitute. Ginger may help with nausea. Above all else, never drink alcohol, which could increase the damage to your liver.
Give Yourself a Break
Taking charge of your care will give you back some of the power you might feel you have lost when dealing with liver cancer, but don't take on the responsibility to be positive and upbeat all the time. Contrary to common opinion, medical research does not indicate a link between being upbeat and getting over your disease. Don't stop fighting, but let yourself be scared, angry, fed up or whatever else you feel. It's normal and healthy to express all of your feelings.
Tags: liver cancer, your disease, dealing with, liver cancer, charge your, surgery possible
