Liver diseases can progress without symptoms for a long time and become very serious. Although there are harmful habits such as smoking and alcohol on the basis of the effects that cause liver cancer, those who never use these harmful habits can also get liver cancer. According to a case report published in The Eurasian Journal of Medicine, the 52-year-old woman was hospitalized after a series of troubling symptoms.
The 52-year-old patient was experiencing stomach-related problems ranging from bloating and nausea after eating. The woman, whose symptoms have progressed for a while, has lost 12 kilograms in the last 45 days. She started with yellowing of the patient’s skin and whites of the eyes. The woman, who applied to the hospital with symptoms such as itching and jaundice, learned that she had liver cancer.
HE DID NOT USE ALCOHOL AND SMOKING
“The patient denied previous use of alcohol or tobacco and had no history of using drugs for blood transfusions,” the case report said. Tests done during her hospitalization revealed she had ascites, detailing a condition in which fluid collects in the spaces in your abdomen.
Bilirubin levels were also found to be high. This can happen when something like a new drug or even a tumor strains your liver. As a result, high bilirubin levels can lead to jaundice, which is considered one of the main symptoms of liver cancer.
SEEN IN MOST PATIENTS
The case report explains that about 19 to 40 percent of patients with liver cancer have this warning sign. Symptoms ranging from yellow skin to a swollen belly can be some important warning signs of liver cancer.
According to the NHS, symptoms to detect can include:
- yellowing of your skin or the whites of your eyes (you may also have itchy skin, darker-than-normal urine and paler stools)
- Loss of appetite or weight loss without trying
- feeling tired or having no energy
- feeling generally unwell or having flu-like symptoms
- lump on the right side of your abdomen
- feeling or being sick
- Pain in the upper right side of your abdomen or right shoulder
- Symptoms of indigestion (such as feeling full too quickly while eating)
- A very bloated stomach that is not related to when you eat.
ITCH INCREASES AT NIGHT
“These symptoms can also be caused by non-cancerous conditions,” said Nurse Lisa. So having these symptoms doesn’t necessarily mean you have liver cancer. It is important to talk to your doctor about these symptoms or any other symptoms you are worried about.” Also, experts stated that the itching seen on the skin in liver cancer increases especially at night and is more on the palms and soles.