Liver Cancer Symptoms And How To Fundraise For Treatment

By: Sukhada

Published On: July 21, 2022

Liver cancer is not easy to diagnose as liver cancer symptoms are often vague. Now, how does a person determine if they have liver cancer? What are the signs of liver cancer?

Liver Cancer Signs And Symptoms

One may wonder: What is the first sign of liver cancer? The answer is that, sometimes, it is possible that even a person with liver cancer shows no obvious liver cancer symptoms. Having one or more of the symptoms given below could indicate liver cancer. However, having these symptoms does not necessarily mean that a person has liver cancer. Therefore, it is important to get checked by a doctor. Following are some of the common liver cancer signs and symptoms that one must not ignore:

A lump on the right side right below the rib cage: This lump is usually hard and indicates hepatomegaly, which is a medical term for an enlarged liver. It could be a liver tumor symptom. There may be various causes associated with hepatomegaly such as liver disease, congestive heart failure, or liver cancer. It is possible that a person may have hepatomegaly and is not aware of it. Hence, it would be wise to not ignore this liver cancer sign.

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Swollen abdomen: Liver cancer can cause swelling of the abdomen as the liver grows in size. The liver is located in the upper right portion of the abdomen. Therefore, swelling on the right side of the abdomen could be a liver tumor symptom. However, other reasons associated with a swollen abdomen could also be gastrointestinal issues, gallbladder tumors, hepatomegaly, and volvulus.

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Pain near the right shoulder blade: Some liver cancer symptoms include swelling or lump formation near the right shoulder or in the back. The swollen area may be painful and may also be accompanied by swelling in the abdomen, legs, and/or ankles. The pain is usually consistent and doesn’t tend to go away. Apart from being a liver tumor symptom, pain in the right shoulder blade could also be the result of other conditions such as muscle strain, respiratory

infection, and gallstones.

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Whitish, chalky stools: Our liver produces fluids known as bile and bilirubin, a normal amount of which is responsible for the brownish color of stool. A lack of this fluid causes the stools to be pale in color. This could be an indication of serious physical conditions such as giardiasis, gallbladder disease, and pancreatic problems. This could also be one of the liver cancer symptoms.

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Jaundice: According to the National Library of Medicine, jaundice is present in 19–40% of patients suffering from hepatocellular carcinoma, a type of liver cancer. It is not one of the liver cancer causes but usually occurs in the advanced stages of liver cancer. Having jaundice does not mean that a person has liver cancer. However, a person suffering from liver cancer may have jaundice. The liver cancer symptoms include yellowing of skin and eyes.

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Easy bruising or bleeding: Bruising or bleeding due to injury is normal. But if, for a person, even a small little bruise turns into a big injury in no time, it is not normal and could be a liver cancer cause. Also, if a minor cut on the skin leads to too much bleeding, this could be a sign of something serious. The underlying conditions may include hemophilia, Von Willebrand disease, or liver disease. The liver is responsible for producing proteins responsible for blood clotting. Thus, when a liver is damaged, bruising or bleeding occurs easily and could be one of the liver cancer symptoms.

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Loss of appetite: The liver plays an important role in digestion. Any damage or cirrhosis in the liver may affect one’s digestive system. A person may want to eat less or sometimes nothing at all. This may lead to weight loss. Thus, a loss of appetite could be another liver tumor symptom. There may be other reasons for loss of appetite such as irritable bowel syndrome, chronic kidney failure, HIV/AIDS, or COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease).

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Unusual tiredness: One of the liver cancer symptoms could be feeling tired without a specific reason. There are some liver tumors that produce hormones that may cause nausea, confusion, or tiredness. Unusual tiredness could also indicate conditions such as iron deficiency, sleep apnea, diabetes, anxiety, or chronic fatigue syndrome.

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Nausea and vomiting: Liver cancer may lead to a condition called hypercalcemia of malignancy, which is a common stage 4 liver cancer symptom. In this condition, calcium levels in a person’s body are significantly elevated. This causes nausea and vomiting in the patient. Nausea and vomiting in persons with liver cancer could also be a result of having some chemotherapy drugs.

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Most of the above-mentioned points are stage 1 liver cancer symptoms. Apart from these, there are a few symptoms that are specific to a particular gender. These are as follows:

Liver Cancer Symptoms (Male)	Liver Cancer Symptoms (Female)
HCC (hepatocellular cancer) occurs 3 times more commonly in men than in women.	Women are more likely to get nonalcoholic fatty liver disease than men
Type II diabetes mellitus is a more common liver cancer symptom in men than women	One of the liver cancer symptoms in women could be enlarged breasts
Males are more likely to require a liver transplant than women	Females have a comparatively smaller tumor size than men