Liver cancer warning signs: Symptoms you shouldn't ignore
There are many causes of liver cancer—one of them is alcohol consumption. Obesity and smoking also significantly increase the risk. In the early stages, the disease can be difficult to detect, but it's important to pay attention to certain signals that may indicate its development.
4:07 AM EDT, October 15, 2024
According to information from the British organization Cancer Research UK, which promotes cancer awareness and supports research in this field, one of the more obvious symptoms of liver cancer can be visible changes in the abdominal area. Importantly, there are a few very characteristic symptoms.
These symptoms should not be ignored
Various symptoms, including chronic abdominal pain, bloating, or ascites, and the appearance of a lump or swelling on the right side of the abdomen, can indicate the presence of cancer. This is often accompanied by a loss of appetite or a quick feeling of fullness. The changes are, therefore, both visible and noticeable.
These symptoms may also accompany pain in the right shoulder because the liver can affect the nerves leading to the shoulder. This information may be surprising to many.
However, these are not the only reasons to suspect the potential development of cancer. Other symptoms of liver cancer include:
- weight loss,
- jaundice, or yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes,
- persistent fatigue,
- itching of the skin (itching is sometimes the first noticeable symptom!).
When such symptoms occur, it is recommended to check bilirubin levels in the blood as soon as possible. This test can practically be done from one day to the next. The normal range for adults is 0.2 mg/dl to 1.1 mg/dl, and exceeding it can indicate various ailments, including liver cancer.
