PAIN or discomfort after eating could be a sign of liver cancer, experts warn.....CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE>>>
Indigestion-like symptoms are common in people with the disease, which kills almost 6,000 people in the UK every year.
Most frequently, people experience heartburn, bloating, nausea and vomiting, according to the NHS.
Feeling full very quickly after snacks or small meals is also reported.
These signs can easily be brushed off as indigestion, which is usually harmless.
But it’s important to be alert to the potential dangers as liver cancer can be tricky to spot. Symptoms often don’t occur at all in the early stages, and once they do it’s vital to act fast.
The NHS says the easy-to-dismiss signs that can affect your digestion include:
More widely, other indicators include:
Having these symptoms doesn’t mean you have liver cancer, or that you are seriously unwell.
But if they persist for more than two weeks, you should see a GP.
A spokesperson for Cancer Research UK (CRUK) said: “Even if you’re worried about what the symptom might be, don’t delay seeing them.
“Your worry is unlikely to go away if you don’t make an appointment.
“The symptom might not be due to cancer. But if it is, the earlier it’s picked up the higher the chance of successful treatment.
“You won’t be wasting your doctor’s time.”
Around 6,200 people are diagnosed with cancer that starts in the liver each year in the UK. That’s 17 new cases every day.
It is more common in men than in women, and the risk of developing the disease gets higher as we get older, according to CRUK.
It claims about 5,800 lives every year – or 16 each day.
The liver is the second largest organ in the body after your skin and sits just below your right lung. Liver cancer starts here when abnormal cells start to divide and grow in an uncontrolled way.
But it is usually only picked up once it has spread to other areas of the body.
There are several different types of primary liver cancer. These are:
- Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) – the most common
- Fibrolamellar cancer – a rare type of HCC
- Bile duct cancer (also called cholangiocarcinoma) – starts in the bile ducts within or outside the liver)
- Angiosarcoma (or haemangiosarcoma) – starts in the blood vessels of the liver and is extremely rare
- Hepatoblastoma – a rare childhood cancer
Almost one in 10 people survive their disease for 10 years or more, CRUK says.…READ THE FULL CONTENTS>>
