Preventing Liver Cancer
It’s the third most common cancer on the planet, but most people don’t know that liver cancer is commonly caused by other cancers that have spread throughout the body.
Dr. Mark Bloomston, a surgical oncologist on staff at Lee Memorial Health System, says typically the only cure for someone diagnosed with liver cancer is surgery. “The liver is an amazing organ. It can actually grow back. It’s the only organ that’s capable of growing back. We can actually remove 75 to 80 percent of the liver and it will grow back to normal size pretty quickly.”
But even after surgery, Dr. Bloomston says patients have a 30 to 80 percent possibility of developing reoccurring tumors. “These tumors tend to be more aggressive.”
He says unlike most cancers, liver cancer is often caused by another cancer that spreads. “Liver cancer as a true diagnosis is fairly uncommon. Most people when they hear of liver cancer have actually had cancers that came to the liver. Not cancers that started in the liver.”
Dr. Bloomston says if there’s no other sign of cancer, liver cancer can be caused by hepatitis C, cirrhosis, or alcoholism. “Patients who have liver cancer tend to be younger than other types of cancers because they have their cirrhosis due to things or behaviors that tend to be in younger patients, such as alcoholism, such as hepatitis C.”
Patients with liver cancer may experience jaundice, weight loss, fatigue, bloating, or nausea. “Patients who have known risk factors for liver cancer are in a screening program that consists of a blood test and some form of imaging,” said Dr. Bloomston. Those patients are tested frequently in hopes of catching tumors early.
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Lee Memorial Health System in Fort Myers, FL is the largest network of medical care facilities in Southwest Florida and is highly respected for its expertise, innovation and quality of care. For nearly a century, we’ve been providing our community with everything from primary care treatment to highly specialized care services and robotic assisted surgeries.
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