It is necessary to have a specific day to talk about the Liver cancer. This is the point from which the Mexican associations of Fight against cancer and of Cancer Survivors Oncoayuda AC to carry out an information campaign on the suffering, its risk factors, forms of prevention and timely detection.
In digital networks such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram you can find the hashtag #LiverCancerHook. Various volunteers will intervene and wear a boxing glove and share a Photography in order to make visible this sickness.
“This campaign is designed for those people who are not familiar with the fact that the liver is also an important organ that can get sick,” he says. Eira Cerda, a gastroenterologist and hepatologist, in an interview with Indigo Report.
Companies also joined the campaign Bayer Mexico Y You can, the boxer Misael Rodríguez, the ex-Exatlón participant, Macky González, the actress Tania Lizardo and the ex-footballer José Luis “Parejita” López.
Only with your support will we be able to give it a #LiverCancerHook. Get in the ring and defend your health and that of those you love the most by informing yourself about the timely diagnosis of the disease. https://t.co/63eodFZJ8J pic.twitter.com/P9lACaaOnf
– Oncoayuda AC (@oncoayuda_mex) May 24, 2021
“Many times we have in mind, for example, breast cancer, cervical cancer, but, unfortunately, liver cancer, which appears when it is already very advanced, what we should do is impact on diagnose it in early stages to be able to give treatment”Insists the doctor of the Hospital Central Militar.
Liver Cancer, a silent disease
The campaign # HookAlCancerDeHígado seeks to make noise before a silent disease.
“Unfortunately, liver diseases are so quiet that they are not diagnosed until there is complicationsOne is that the patient has an accumulation of fluid, hemorrhages that appear already when everything is very advanced. That is why it is very important to prevent it in time ”, says the expert Eira Cerda.
The Mexican Association for the Fight Against Cancer also agrees that most people do not have signs or symptom in the early stages of primary liver cancer. But when these exist, they may be loss of weight and appetite, abdominal pain and bloating, nausea and vomiting, general weakness and fatigue, yellow discoloration of the skin and the whites of the eyes, and white or off-white stools.
The most common type of liver cancer is hepatocellular carcinoma, which begins in the main type of liver cell. Other variants are intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma and hepatoblastoma, they are less common.
“The liver, to date, is the sixth most common cancer and, unfortunately, the second cause of cancer-related death,” says the specialist.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer of the World Health Organization (WHO) reveals that, in Mexico, annually diagnose around 7,500 new cases of liver cancer and that each year around 7,100 people die from this cause, according to 2020 data.
“These higher mortality cases are due to the fact that it is already detected in advanced stages liver tumor. Unfortunately, they are those patients who no longer have any treatment option; life expectancy would be ending, we cannot offer you anything, nor chemotherapies. That is why it is so alarming that we can impact this population so that the survival it can be up to five years of age, especially if we detect a tumor early, ”says Cerda.
On Facebook, Twitter and Instagram you can find the hashtag # GanchoAlCancerDeHígado
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Risk and prevention
The Mexican Association for the Fight Against Cancer lists some factors that increase the risk of suffering from primary liver cancer, such as chronic infection by the virus hepatitis B o C, la cirrhosis, inherited liver diseases, diabetes, fatty liver nonalcoholic and excessive alcohol consumption.
“It is important to keep all risk factors in mind in order to be able to to prevent. Especially if you know of a family member, a friend, a neighbor who has liver cirrhosis, remove the stigma that it is due to alcohol, the truth is that there are other factors that depend on the liver ”, warns the doctor Eira Cerda.
7 thousand
100 people die a year from liver cancer in Mexico according to the WHO
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The doctor suggests paying attention to the general practitioner and the gastroenterologist in case of having any problems.
“And above all, keep in mind that patients must undergo a ultrasound liver every six months, especially those with cirrhosis, that is to detect small tumors and that can be treated as soon as possible. When the liver disease or the tumor is already very advanced, we can no longer provide some type of treatment ”, laments Cerda.
There are many #HeroesInStateBattle. That is why we invite you this Wednesday, June 23 at 11:00 am to recognize those who have won the battle against cancer and learn how they lived it. #WorldCancer Survivor Dayhttps://t.co/uxDeM47f2B pic.twitter.com/aMAk2h8BCR
— cancermex (@cancermex) June 16, 2021
The gastroenterologist and hepatologist also asks to have a multidisciplinary assessment.
“The assessment is always multidisciplinary, especially with a surgical medical oncologist and a gastroenterologist. Likewise, also palliative care so that the patient has the same therapeutic options, especially what it requires ”, he assures.
The doctor may determine a physical exam, a liver function or tumor marker test, an X-ray scan, an MRI, an ultrasound, and a biopsy, among other diagnostic methods. While the types of treatment can be surgery, radiation therapy and even medication, to name a few options.
You can also read: Fundación Salvati, united against cancer
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