Liver Cancer - Why do you get it?

Liver cancer is cancer that affects the liver cells and your bile ducts.

Why do you get liver cancer and what can you do to prevent it?

The most common form is hepatocellular or cancer of the liver cells. In this form, the cells of your liver get diseased, causing a tumor to form.

The primary causes include excessive alcohol, a fatty liver condition or hepatitis B infections.

So let us unpack each of these to understand it better.

Alcohol is a distilled form of sugar. In the body, it gets converted into fat quickly. The reason is simple.

The rate of inflow of “sugar” from the alcohol far exceeds your requirement because you are drinking over a short period.

Excess sugar is converted and stored as fat. The same thing happens when your calorie intake is greater than your daily need. Except with calories, it takes longer.

In both cases, the fatty layer forms around the liver, preventing blood, oxygen and nutrition from flowing to the liver cells.

Liver cells die, or become cancerous tumors.

Hepatitis B stems from viral infection. If the Hepatitis virus enters your body and makes host, it infects your liver cells. The liver cells then get damaged, resulting in cancer.

So what can you do?

Stay vigilant. An alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) test is one potential marker for liver cancer. Dont run out and get it done unless you are at risk.

Risk, in this case, implying you drink excessive amounts of alcohol or are overweight or both.

A crucial element in managing liver cancer lies in accurate diagnosis. Imaging tests such as CT or MRI scans detect unusual formations.

Identifying cancer early significantly reduces the risk.

Yet, perhaps the most powerful step we can take is prevention.

Vaccinate yourself against hepatitis B. Stop consuming alcohol or at least reduce it signifcantly.

Reduce your weight if that is your issue.

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