Liver cancer

For a lay person:

Liver cancer usually means hepatocellular carcinoma, a cancer that starts in the liver cells. It most often develops in people with long-term liver damage from hepatitis B or C, heavy drinking or fatty liver disease. It may cause pain under the right ribs, weight loss and jaundice.

For a trained medical person:

Hepatocellular carcinoma arises mainly on a background of cirrhosis or chronic hepatitis B, and surveillance ultrasound is advised in at-risk groups. Diagnosis is by multiphase contrast CT or MRI with characteristic enhancement, biopsy when imaging is not diagnostic, and alpha-fetoprotein as a supporting marker. Treatment depends on tumour burden and liver function: resection, transplantation or ablation for early disease, transarterial therapy for intermediate disease, and systemic immunotherapy or targeted therapy for advanced disease.

In Chinese medicine:

Liu and Tseng's textbook differentiates this condition into these patterns: Liver Qi Stagnation and Spleen Deficiency; Damp-Heat, Stasis, and Toxin; Qi Stagnation and Blood Stasis Syndrome (Commonly Seen with Liv er Cirrhosis); Pain. Treatment follows the pattern a patient presents with, not the Western diagnosis alone.

When to get help: This needs specialist hepatology and oncology care; Chinese medicine is adjunctive at most. Get urgent care for vomiting blood, confusion, sudden swelling of the tummy or worsening jaundice; because the liver is already damaged, herbs carry extra risk of liver injury and must be checked with your team.