Liver Cancer is a disease caused by an abnormal and uncontrolled growth of cells, also called malignancy. It is a group of 100 different diseases, and is not contagious.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Certain genes control the life cycle—the growth, function, division, and death—of a cell. When these genes are damaged, the balance between normal cell growth and death is lost. Cancer cells are caused by DNA damage and out-of-control cell growth.
Genetic mutations may cause cancer. For example, mutations of genes BRCA1 and BRCA2 (linked to an increased risk of breast and ovarian cancers) can inhibit the body’s ability to safeguard and repair DNA. Copies of these mutated genes can be passed on genetically to future generations, leading to a genetically-inherited increased risk of cancer.
In other words: Cancer refers to cells that grow out-of-control and invade other tissues. Cells may become cancerous due to the accumulation of defects, or mutations, in their DNA. Certain inherited genetic defects (for example, BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations) and infections can increase the risk of cancer. Environmental factors (for example, air pollution) and poor lifestyle choices—such as smoking and heavy alcohol use—can also damage DNA and lead to cancer.
Liver cancer can spread quickly depending on the type of cancer. Hemangiosarcoma and angiosarcoma types of liver cancer are fast spreading, whereas hepatocellular carcinoma spreads late in the disease.
Liver Cancer
Most people who get liver cancer also known as hepatocellular carcinoma, get it in the setting of chronic liver disease (long-term liver damage called cirrhosis), which scars the liver and increases the risk for liver cancer. Conditions that cause cirrhosis are alcohol use/abuse, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C.
The causes of liver cancer may be linked to environmental, dietary, or lifestyle factors.
Incidence rates of hepatocellular cancer are rising in the world due to the increasing prevalence of cirrhosis caused by chronic hepatitis C and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.
Liver Cancer Definition
Primary liver cancer or hepatocellular carcinoma also called hepatic cancer, is a condition or disease that happens when normal cells in the liver become abnormal in appearance and behavior. The cancer cells can then become destructive to adjacent normal tissues and can spread both to other areas of the liver and organs outside the liver.
Malignant Cancer
Malignant or cancerous cells that develop in the normal cells of the liver (hepatocytes) are called hepatocellular carcinoma. Cancer that arises in the ducts of the liver is called cholangiocarcinoma.
Malignant tumors of the liver are most commonly metastases, or areas of distant spread, from tumors that arise elsewhere in the body. These tumors are not true liver cancers; instead they are named by their site of origin, such as lung cancer metastatic to the liver. True liver cancers are malignancies that arise in the cells of the liver.
Symptoms of liver cancer arise most commonly in the later stages of the disease and include
- weight loss,
- nausea,
- vomiting,
- loss of appetite,
- fatigue, and
- abdominal swelling.
Metastatic liver cancer
Metastatic cancer is cancer that has spread from the place where it first started (the primary site) to another place in the body (secondary site). Metastatic cancer in the liver is a condition in which cancer from other organs has spread through the bloodstream to the liver. Here the liver cells are not what have become cancerous. The liver has become the site to which cancer that started elsewhere has spread. Metastatic cancer has the same name and same type of cancer cells as original cancer. The most common cancers that spread to the liver are breast, colon, bladder, kidney, ovary, pancreas, stomach, uterus, and lungs etc.
Some patients with metastatic tumors do not have symptoms. Their metastases are found by X-rays, CT scans, ultrasounds, or other tests. Enlargement of the liver or jaundice (yellowing of the skin) can indicate cancer has spread to the liver.
Benign Tumors (Non Cancerous)
A tumor is an abnormal mass of cells. Tumors can either be benign (non-cancerous) or malignant (cancerous).
Benign tumors grow locally and do not spread. As a result, benign tumors are not considered cancer. They can still be dangerous, especially if they press against vital organs like the brain.
Stages of Cancer
Doctors use the stages of cancer to classify cancer according to its size, location, and extent of spread. Staging helps doctors determine the prognosis and treatment for cancer. The TNM staging system classifies cancers according to:
- Stage 1: – It is single primary tumor of any size. Itis found only in liver and not grown into any blood vessels. The cancer has not spread to nearby lymph nodes or distant sites also.
- Stage 2:- It is also single primary tumor of any size OR there is more than one tumor present in liver. But in this stage 2, tumor has spread to the blood vessels, and they are all smaller than 5 cm in diameter. The cancer has not spread to nearby lymph nodes or distant sites also.
- Stage 3:- Stage 3 liver cancer is divided into three subcategories:
- Stage 3(A):- In this stage, there are several tumors and one of them is larger than 2 inches (5 cm) in diameter. The cancer has not spread to nearby lymph nodes or distant sites.
- Stage 3(B):- In this stage, there are several tumors and one tumor of them is growing into a branch of the portal vein or the hepatic vein. The liver cancer has not spread to nearby lymph nodes or distant sites
- Stage 3(C):- In this stage, the tumor has grown into a nearby organ (other than the gallbladder) OR the tumor has grown into the outer covering of the liver. The cancer has not spread to nearby lymph nodes or distant sites.
- Stage 4:- Stage 4 liver cancer is divided into two subcategories:
- Stage 4(A):- In this stage, the tumors is of any size or number and have spread beyond the liver to blood vessels or nearby organs. The cancer has invaded nearby lymph nodes, but cancer has not spread to distant sites.
- Stage 4(B):- In this stage, liver cancer has spread to other parts of the body (Metastasis).
Some cancers, including those of the brain, spinal cord, bone marrow (lymphoma), blood (leukemia), and female reproductive system, do not receive a TNM classification. Instead, these cancers are classified according to a different staging systems.
Cancer Symptoms and signs
Liver cancer causes no symptoms of its own. As the tumor grows, it may cause symptoms of pain in the right side of the abdomen or feel overly full after eating a little. Some patients may have worsening symptoms of chronic liver disease or cirrhosis, which often precedes the development of cancer of the liver. For example, patients may complain of:
- unexplained weight loss, wasting (cachexia),
- decreased appetite,
- nausea or vomiting,
- a feeling of an enlarged liver (feeling a mass under the ribs on the right side),
- enlarged spleen (feeling a mass under the ribs on the left side),
- pain in the abdomen or near the right shoulder blade,
- increased swelling of the feet and belly,
- fluid build-up in the belly,
- itching,
- swollen legs, and
- yellowing of the eyes and skin (jaundice).
Types of liver cancer and liver tumors
Benign liver tumors: This type of tumor can become large enough to cause problems but will not spread to other areas of the body.
- Hemangioma: A hemangioma is a blood vessel tumor that only requires treatment if it bleeds.
- Hepatic adenoma: This is a type of benign liver tumor, which may cause abdominal pain or blood loss. Surgical removal is usually recommended.
- Focal nodular hyperplasia (FNH): This tumor is made up of several different types of cells (liver, bile duct, and connective tissue cells).
Liver angiosarcoma (or hepatic angiosarcoma) and hemangiosarcoma are rare. This is a cancer of the inner lining of the blood vessels. Since the symptoms of liver angiosarcoma are nonspecific, usually this type of liver cancer is not discovered until it is too late to be treated effectively.
- Hepatocellular carcinoma: This is the most common form of primary cancer. Primary liver cancer is cancer that began in the liver. It can occur as a single tumor or many small cancer nodules throughout the liver. Primary liver cancer will commonly spread to the lungs, the portal vein (kidney), and portal lymph nodes.
- Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (bile duct cancer): As described by its name, this cancer starts where the bile duct connects to the liver. Between 10%-15% of the liver, cancers are of this type. This type of cancer commonly spreads (metastasis) to the lymph nodes, lungs, and bone marrow.
- Hepatoblastoma: This is rare cancer found in children, usually under age 4.
- Secondary cancer: This is cancer that started elsewhere in the body and spread to the liver. This spread of cancer from a primary site to other parts of the body is called metastasis. Secondary cancer will be treated by the techniques that have been successful for the primary type of cancer. For example, lung cancer that has spread to the liver will be treated using lung cancer protocols, which are the standards of medical care that have been effective for lung cancer.
- Lymphoma, a cancer of the immune system including the lymph nodes, also commonly spreads to the liver. Pancreatic cancer may also spread to the liver.
What are the risk factors?
Incidence rates of hepatocellular cancer are rising around the world due to the increasing prevalence of cirrhosis caused by chronic hepatitis C and steatohepatitis (nonalcoholic fatty liver disease).
Cirrhosis of the liver due to any cause is a risk factor for liver cancer. The risk factors for liver cancer in cirrhosis are being male, age 55 years or older, Asian or Hispanic ethnicity, family history in a first-degree relative, obesity, hepatitis B and C, alcohol use, and elevated iron content in the blood due to hemochromatosis.
Chronic hepatitis B infection even without cirrhosis is a risk factor for liver cancer.
Diagnosis of liver cancer
The best way to detect liver cancer is through surveillance ultrasound of the liver done by an oncologist every 6 months in a patient with a diagnosis of cirrhosis. As with most forms of cancer, it is best to treat liver cancer as soon as it is detected.
Once a suspicion of liver cancer arises, a physician will order one of the following to confirm a diagnosis:
- Blood tests: alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), which may be elevated in 70% of patients with liver cancer. AFP levels could be normal in liver cancer. A rising level of AFP is suspicious for liver cancer. The AFP may be elevated with cirrhosis and chronic active hepatitis. Other labs tests include des-gamma-carboxy prothrombin, which can be elevated in most patients with liver cancer.
- Imaging studies: Multiphasic helical CT scan and MRI with the contrast of the liver are the preferred imaging for detecting the location and extent of blood supply to cancer. If any imaging study is inconclusive, then an alternative imaging study or follow-up imaging study should be performed to help clarify the diagnosis. Lesions smaller than 1 cm are usually difficult to characterize.
- A liver biopsy is performed to sample tissue from the lesion in the liver, which is analyzed by a pathologist to confirm the suspected diagnosis of liver cancer. A liver biopsy is not needed in every case, especially if the imaging study and lab markers are characteristic of liver cancer. Risks of liver biopsy are infection, bleeding, or seeding of the needle track with cancer. Seeding is when cancer cells get on the needle used for a biopsy and spread to other areas touched by the needle. Liver biopsy of suspected liver cancer carries the added risk of seeding the liver biopsy needle track in 1%-3% of cases. If a liver biopsy is inconclusive, then a repeat imaging study is recommended at 3- to 6-month intervals.
- Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) blood test is the most widely used biochemical blood tests. High levels of AFP in the blood are seen in three situations; HCC (hepatocellular carcinoma), cancer of the testes or ovaries, and liver cancer.
The Role of Lymph Nodes in Cancer Diagnosis
Cancer that originates in the lymph nodes or other area of the lymphatic system is called lymphoma. Cancer that originates elsewhere in the body can spread to lymph nodes. The presence of metastasized cancer in the lymph nodes is may mean the cancer is growing quickly and/or is more likely to spread to other sites. The presence of cancer in lymph nodes often affects prognosis and treatment decisions. Many diagnostic tests look at the lymph nodes as an indicator.
Is liver cancer curable?
Liver cancer is difficult to cure, as it is most often not caught in the early stage. with allopathic drugs, Liver cancer may never go away completely, but with Homeopathy it is possible. Blood tests and imaging tests may be part of a patient’s survivorship plan. Statistics for liver cancer are difficult to apply to a specific patient, like the forms, stages, and responses to treatment vary per individual.
Treatment options
The medical treatment chosen depends upon how much cancer has spread and the general health of the liver. For example, the extent of cirrhosis (scarring) of the liver can determine the treatment options for cancer. Similarly, the spread and extent of the spread of cancer beyond the liver tissue play an important part in the types of liver cancer treatment options that may be most effective.
Allopathic treatment with chemotherapy, radiation, targeted treatments (drugs designed to target a specific type of cancer cell) or immunosuppressive drugs used to decrease the spread of cancer throughout the body can also cause damage to healthy cells. Some “second cancers”, completely separate from the initial cancer, have been known to occur following aggressive cancer treatments; however, researchers are producing drugs that cause less damage to healthy cells (for example, targeted therapy).
- Surgery: I allopathy liver cancer can be treated sometimes with surgery to remove the part of the liver with cancer. Surgical options are reserved for the smaller sizes of cancer tumors. Complications from surgery may include bleeding (which can be severe), infection, pneumonia, or side effects of anesthesia.
- Liver transplant: The doctor replaces the cancerous liver with a healthy liver from another person. It is usually used in very small unresectable (inoperable or not able to be removed) liver tumors in patients with advanced cirrhosis. Liver transplantation surgery may have the same complications as noted above for surgery. Also, complications from medications related to a liver transplant may include possible rejection of the liver transplant, infection due to suppression of the immune system, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, weakening of the kidneys and bones, and an increase in body hair.
- Ablation therapy: This is a procedure that can kill cancer cells in the liver without any surgery. The doctor can kill cancer cells using heat, laser, or injecting special alcohol or acid directly into cancer. This technique also may be used in palliative care when the cancer is unresectable.
- Embolization: Blocking the blood supply to cancer can be done using a procedure called embolization. This technique uses a catheter to inject particles or beads that can block blood vessels that feed cancer. Starving the cancer of the blood supply prevents the growth of cancer. When this technique uses chemotherapy and synthetic material, it is sometimes called chemoembolization, as it blocks off the blood supply and traps the chemotherapy agent in a tumor. This technique is usually used on patients with large liver cancer for palliation. Complications of embolization include fever, abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting, and some side effects from drugs.
- Radiation therapy: Radiation uses high-energy rays directed to cancer to kill cancer cells. Normal liver cells are also very sensitive to radiation. Complications of radiation therapy include skin irritation near the treatment site, fatigue, nausea, and vomiting.
- Chemotherapy: Chemotherapy uses medicine that kills cancer cells. The medicine can be given by mouth or by injecting into a vein or artery feeding the liver. People can have a variety of side effects from chemotherapy, depending on the medications used and the patient’s response. Complications of chemotherapy include fatigue, easy bruising, hair loss, nausea and vomiting, swollen legs, diarrhea, and mouth sores. These side effects are usually temporary.
- Targeted agent: Sorafenib (Nexavar) is an oral medication that can prolong survival (up to 3 months) in patients with advanced liver cancer. Side effects of sorafenib (Nexavar) include fatigue, rash, high blood pressure, sores on the hands and feet, and loss of appetite.
- Clinical trial: A clinical trial is a way to receive specific treatments in a carefully controlled way to determine whether a new therapy approach is safe, effective, and better than existing therapies. A new treatment may be a drug, a device, a different way to do a surgery, a combination of two or more drugs, methods of treatment, or even diet. The government maintains a website at ClinicalTrials.gov where more information on trials related to liver cancer can be found. The research from clinical trials, including the statistics supporting the effectiveness of the intervention being tested, is important in the introduction of new treatment methods and ways to change the standard of medical care for all types of liver cancer.
In addition to surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy, other therapies are used to treat cancer. These include:
Targeted or Biological Therapies (Homeopathic Therapy)
Targeted or biological therapies seek to treat cancer and boost the body’s immune system while minimizing damage to normal, healthy cells. Monoclonal antibodies, immunomodulating drugs, vaccines, and cytokines are examples of targeted or biological therapies.
Homeopathic Treatment for Liver Cancer
Arsenicum Album
Arsenic is a hemorrhagic: it acts on both blood and blood-vessels. Varices burn like fire. Anemia, chlorosis. Brown ague. Face pale, hollow, and cadaverous. Yellowish, bluish, or greenish color of the face. Leaden and earth colored tint, with greenish and bluish spots and streaks. Caecum, affections of. Cancer. Cancrum ores. Carbuncle. Cholera Asiatic. Cholera. Cold. Coldness. Diarrhea. Diphtheria. Dropsy. Duodenum. Dyspepsia. Endometritis. Enteric fever. Epithelioma. Fever. Gangrene. Gastric ulcer. Gastritis. Gastrodynia. Glandular swellings. Herpes zoster. Hodgkin’s disease. Hydrothorax. Hypochondriasis. Ichthyosis. Indigestion. Intermittent fever. Irritation. Jaundice, epithelioma, metrorrhagia, hemoptysis. Hard and elastic swelling of the face.
Cancer of the face and lips with burning pain. Hard knots and cancerous ulcers, having thick scurfy with lard-like bottoms on the lips. Swelling of the submaxillary glands, with convulsive pain, and soreness on being touched.
Offensive smell from the mouth.-Secretion of abundant tough, fetid, bloody saliva sometimes bitter or bloody. The mouth is reddish-blue, inflamed, burning. Tongue bluish or white. Ulceration of the tongue, with blue color. Torpor and insensibility of the tongue, as if it were burnt. Tongue brownish or blackish, dry, cracked, and trembling. Tongue a bright red. Tongue white as chalk, as if painted white. Tongue red with a silvery white coat. Tongue stiff like a piece of wood. Ulceration of the tongue on the anterior edge. Swelling, inflammation, or gangrene of the tongue. Angina gangrenous (with aphthae). Aphthae in the mouth. Speech rapid, precipitate.
Everything that is swallowed causes a pressure in the esophagus. After a meal, nausea, vomiting, eructation, pains in the stomach, colic, and many other sufferings. Bitter.-Regurgitation of acrid matter or of bitter greenish mucus of a yellowish, greenish, brownish, or blackish color; vomiting of sanguineous matter. Sensation of constriction, cramp-like pains, pulling, piercing, and gnawing in the stomach.
Compression in the region of the liver. Swelling of the spleen. Excessive pains in the abdomen, principally on the left side, and often with great anguish in the abdomen. Inflation of the abdomen. Ascites. Swelling of the abdomen as in ascites. Hard bloated abdomen. Violent cutting pains, cramp-like pains, digging, pulling, tearing, and gnawing in the abdomen. Swelling and induration of the mesenteric glands. Much flatulencies, with rumbling in the abdomen. Flatulency of a putrid smell. Painful swelling of the inguinal glands.
Constipation, with frequent, but ineffectual inclination to evacuate. Nocturnal diarrhea, feces with mucus, or bilious, sanguineous, serous, painless, involuntary, & of greenish, yellowish, whitish color, or brownish and blackish; fetid and putrid evacuations; evacuations of undigested substances. Emission of mucus by the anus with tenesmus.
Itching, shooting, and burning in the glans and in the prepuce. Inflammation, painful and gangrened swelling of the genital parts. Glans swollen, cracked, and bluish. Swelling of the testes. Erysipelatous inflammation of the scrotum, prostatic fluid during loose stools.
Dry cough, sometimes deep, fatiguing, and shaking, Oppressed, labored breathing. Violent and insupportable throbbing of the heart. Heart-beats irritable. Palpitation with anguish, cannot lie on back.
Chelidonium Majus
Antrum of Highmore, inflammation of. Cancer. Chest, affections of. Chorea. Constipation. Cough. Diarrhea. Dyspepsia, vomiting of bile. Gallstones. Shooting stitching through liver to back to inner angle of scapula. Gonorrhea. Hemoptysis. Hemorrhoids. Headache. Influenza. Jaundice. Lachrymal fistula. Laryngismus. Liver, affections of. Nephritis. Neuralgia. Nose-bleed. Pleurodynia. Pneumonia. Rheumatism. Scald-head. Stiff-neck. Taste, altered. Tumors. Warts. Whooping-cough. Yawning.
Berberis Vulgaris
Stitches in region of gallbladder; worse, pressure, extending to stomach. Catarrh of the gallbladder with constipation and yellow complexion. Stitching pain in front of kidneys extending to liver, spleen, stomach, groins, Poupart’s ligament. Sticking deep in ilium. Constant urging to stool. Diarrhea painless, clay-colored, burning, and smarting in anus and perineum. Tearing around anus. Fistula in ano.
Urinary: Burning pains. Sensation as if some urine remained after urinating. Urine with thick mucus and bright-red, mealy sediment. Bubbling, sore sensation in kidneys. Pain in bladder region. Pain in the thighs and loins on urinating. Frequent urination.
Stitches in neck and back; worse, respiration. Sticking pain in region of kidneys radiating thence around abdomen, to hips and groins. Numb, bruised sensation. Stitches from kidneys into bladder. Tearing, sticking with stiffness, making rising difficult, involving hips, nates, limbs, with numbness. Lumbago. Metatarsus and metacarpus feel sprained. Post-operative pain in lumbar region; soreness with sharp pain following course of circumflex iliac nerve to bladder with frequent urination.
Phosphorus
Anemia, acute pernicious. Anus, fissure. Cancer. Chilblains. Chlorosis. Chorea. Ciliary neuralgia. Coccygodynia. Cold. Constipation. Consumption. Corpulency. Jaundice. Odor of body, changed. Pancreas disorders. Spleen enlargement. Progressive muscular atrophy. Engorgement of axillary glands and of those of nape of neck and of neck. Heat or burning in back, between scapulae. Tearing and stitches in and beneath both scapulae
Excoriation of mouth. Bitter taste in mouth; sour after milk; bloody erosions on inner surface of cheeks. Accumulation of saliva, which is watery, saltish, sweetish; or excessive dryness of mouth. Soreness of mouth. Spitting of blood. Viscid mucus in throat. Hemoptysis. Purulent vesicles in palate. Skin of palate shriveled, as if about to be detached. Tongue swollen, dry, loaded with a blackish brown coating. Pain in stomach. Greenish or blackish vomiting. Vomiting of acid matter. Vomiting of food. Vomiting of bile or of mucus at night.
Sensation of contraction in cardiac region. Abdomen hard and distended. Distended abdomen with bilious tendency. Enlargement and induration of liver, with pain. Pain in hepatic region on pressure. Enlargement of spleen. Sensitiveness in hepatic region. Inflammation of intestines. Large yellow spots in abdomen.
Constipation. Feces hard, small, slow, interrupted, difficult to evacuate, Serous diarrhea, Mucous diarrhea, Bloody diarrhea. Undigested feces. Greenish, grey (or whitish-grey), or black feces (with flakes of mucus).
Increased secretion of watery urine. Frequent emission of a scanty stream of urine (only a small quantity each time). Urine with white, serous, sandy and red, or else yellow sediment. Turbid urine, with sediment like brick-dust. Pale, aqueous, or whitish urine. Variegated pellicle on surface of urine. Hematuria (with acute pain in region of kidneys and liver, and jaundice). Smarting and burning sensation when urinating. Tension and jerking, or burning pain in urethra when not urinating (with frequent desire to urinate).
Fagonia Arabica (Cretica)
Inflammation and wound healing tissue scarring and accumulation of extracellular matrix properties, it repair and regeneration of injured tissue occur via apoptotic and regenerative mechanisms. In liver cirrhosis, results of certain clinical trials are not so good but it helps greatly in liver cirrhosis and liver cancer. In liver cancer stages Fegonia Arabica (Cretica) gives wonderful results.
It is the best blood purifier and decomposes blood clots to save from brain hemorrhage and heart problems, treat all types of Cancers and Thalassemia, Treats all types of Hepatitis. Strengthens liver and prevents/cures liver cancer. vomiting, thirst and burning sensation in abdomen.
Lachesis
Albuminuria. Alcoholism. Amblyopia. Aneurysm. Apoplexy. Appendicitis. Asthenopia. Asthma. Atheroma. Bedsores. Boils. Bubo. Caecum, inflammation of. Carbuncle. Catalepsy. Chancre. Change of life. Chilblains. Ciliary neuralgia. Cough. Cyanosis. Delirium tremens. Diphtheria. Gallstones. Intermittent fever. Jaundice. Liver, affections. Insatiable thirst. Gangrene. Glanders. Gums, bleeding of. Hemorrhages. Hemorrhoids. Hay fever. Headache. Heart, affections of. Heartburn. Tumors. Ulcers. Veins, varicose. Vertigo. Nasal Bleeding.
Pain in the small of back, with constipation, intermittent fever, palpitation of the heart or dyspnea. Flat ulcers on lower extremities, with blue or purple surroundings. Gangrenous ulcers on legs. Red pimples on the thighs and on the legs, after scratching. Excoriated places, and superficial ulcers with foul bases, on the legs. Red or bluish, and painful swelling of feet and legs. Heaviness, numbness, icy coldness, sweating of the feet. Itching, psoriatic eruptions, papule and spots as from a burn, in feet and legs. Cracks and rhagades between the toes. Abscess in the heels. Wounds and ulcers bleed readily and copiously. Varicose swellings. Dropsical swelling over whole body. Hard and pale tumefaction. Skin yellow, green, lead-colored, or bluish-red or blackish, chiefly round the wounds and ulcers. Yellow, red, copper-colored spots. Pale, livid spots, with fainting fits. Dry, miler itch, with eruption of large vesicles of a yellow or of a bluish-black color, with swelling of parts affected, and pains which drive to despair. Miliary eruption, which subsequently resembles nettle-rash, scarlatina, or morbilli. Erysipelas and vesicular eruptions with a red crown. Gangrenous ulcers. Gangrenous blisters. Superficial ulcers, foul at bottom, with a red crown. Cancerous ulceration.
Icy coldness of the skin or of the limbs, or only of the feet, with great desire to be near a fire, and sometimes with loss of sensation, clammy sweat, weakness and rapid pulse. Intermittent fever, the paroxysms come on every spring, or after suppression of the fever in the previous fall by quinine. Typhus fever, esp. when the tongue is red or black, dry or in fissures, esp. at the tip.
Violent and convulsive vomiting of everything taken, or of bilious, bitter, greenish matter. Vomiting of pure blood, or of bloody mucus. Vomiting, with diarrhea, obscuration of sight, pains in stomach, and diuresis. Excessive sensibility of precordial region to slightest touch; tight garments are insupportable, and the least pressure is very painful. Inflammation and softening of liver. Hepatic abscess. Gallstones. Pains and stitches in region of spleen, sometimes on riding in a carriage or walking. Extravasation of blood in peritoneum. Swelling in caecal region.
Obstinate constipation with hard and difficult evacuation. Constipation alternately with diarrhea. Diarrhea, with violent colic, nausea, vomiting, anguish, pains in rectum during passage of feces, tenesmus and excoriation of anus. Stools excessively offensive. Stool with undigested substances.
Pressure on bladder, with urgency to urinate, nocturnal polyuria, Urine turbid and brown, or red, or deep yellow, and sometimes with frequent but scanty emission, or with brown and sandy or red or brick-colored sediment. Frothy urine. Urine frequent, foaming, black. Involuntary and unnoticed emission of urine.
Mercurius Solubilis and Mercurius Vivid
Abscess, Anemia, Breath, offensive, Difficult respiration, Palpitation of heart. Cancrum oris, Chancre. Chickenpox , Dysentery. Dyspepsia, Diarrhea , Eczema, Fevers. Fissures. Glandular swellings, Engorgement and inflammatory swelling of glands of neck, with shooting and pressive pains, Gum boil(s). Gums, unhealthy, Teeth, affections. Jaundice, Yellow color of the skin, with perspiration which imparts a yellow color to linen.-Skin dirty yellow, rough and dry. Odor, of body, offensive, Peritonitis, Prostate, disease.
Tongue moist, coated with white and thick, or dry, brown, or blackish mucus, ulceration of tongue, with shooting pains, Tongue swollen, soft flabby with grey patches on edges. Mouth – Putrid, salt, sweetish, or metallic taste.-Bitter taste. Weakness of digestion. G.E.R.D, Acidity. Burning, violent pain, and excessive sensibility (esp. to touch) in the stomach, and in the precordial region.-Tension, fulness, and pressure principally in umbilical region, flatulency, principally at night. Affections of inner region of liver.
Edematous, transparent swelling, of thighs and legs.-Dropsical swelling of legs with sharp or shooting pains. Edema of face, hands, and feet with anemia, Red and shining inflammatory swellings. Great agitation in limbs, with pains in joints, principally in evening.-Great fatigue, weakness, and rapid loss of strength, with great uneasiness of body and mind.-Ebullition of blood, and frequent trembling, even after least exertion.
Stool: acrid; bloody; knotty; containing pus; viscid. diarrhea with slime, Chilliness between the diarrheic stools. Feces of small shape; ribbon-like. bloody mucus accompanied by colic and tenesmus; dysentery. Discharge of blood, or of mucus, from rectum.
Urine acrid; turbid; too frequent, stream of urine is excessively small. Irresistible, sudden desire to urinate. Frequent and copious emission of urine, Urine of a deep color, or red, or brown, or white, as if mixed with flour or chalk, or of the color of blood. Offensive, turbid urine, which forms a sediment. Sanguineous, pungent, or sour-smelling urine. Corrosive and burning urine.
Cholesternium
For cancer of the liver. Obstinate hepatic engorgements. Burning pain in side; on walking holds his hand on side, hurts him so. Opacities of the vitreous. Jaundice; gallstones. Cholestenone is the physiological opponent of Lecithin. Both seem to play some unknown part in the growth of tumors. Gallstones and insomnia.
Hippozaeninum
Abscesses. Bed-sores. Boils. Bronchitis. Cancer. suppuration and catarrh, malignant ulcerations and swellings, abscesses and enlarged glands. Carbuncles. Caries. Catarrh, chronic. Colds, chronic. Diphtheria. Elephantiasis. Erysipelas. Glanders. Glands, inflamed, Maxillary gland mostly painless, burning only at times. Submaxillary and sublingual glands swollen and painful at times, abscesses are formed which open externally. Hip-disease. Liver enlarged. Numerous ecchymoses in internal organs. Lupus excedens. Plague. Pustules. Putrid fever. Pyemia. Scrofula. Smallpox, confluent. Syphilis. Tuberculosis. Ulcers. Not healing ulcers. Whooping-cough.
Act of speaking difficult. Tongue dry, thickly covered with a black, sooty deposit. Ulcers appear in mouth. Buccal passages filled with tenacious lymph and mucus. Odor of breath putrid. Scrofulous swelling of left parotid gland. Teeth and Gums. Gums show a tendency to bleed. Gums covered with a black, sooty deposit. Nasal cartilages, ulceration of. Edema. Ozaena. Parotitis. Phlegmasia alba dolens. Phlegmon. Ulcerations upon velum of palate. Swollen tonsils closing posterior channels. Upon mucous membrane of pharynx ecchymoses, redness, swelling, eruptions, and foul ulcers.
Thirst excessive, esp. with diarrhea. Gastro-intestinal catarrh; loss of appetite, indigestion, constipation; in later stage, diarrhea. Liver greatly enlarged, often showing signs of fatty degeneration. Hepatitis with gangrenous and ulcerative inflammation of gall ducts. Spleen enlarged, filled with blood; softened and liquefied, of a greyish or dark color; wedge-shaped abscess in spleen. Inguinal glands swollen. Colliquative diarrhea with a general cachexia and exhaustion precede the fatal termination. Constipation.
Tubercles and abscesses in kidneys. Albumin in urine, also leucine and tyrosine. Tubercles and abscesses: of glans penis; of testicles; in kidneys. ∴ Slimy discharge from vagina. Uterine phlebitis. Abortion.
Calceria Arsenicosa
Acidity. Albuminuria. Asthma. Cholera. Cirrhosis of liver. Constipation. Consumption. Corpulence. Dropsy. Embolus. Epilepsy. Gastric ulcer. Headache. Heart, disease of. Indigestion. Intermittent fever. Kidneys, affections of. Liver, affections of. Obesity. Palpitation. Pancreas, cancer of. Tumors. Typhoid.
Conium Maculate
Asthma. Bladder, inflammation of. Breast, affections of; painful. Bronchitis. Bruises. Cancer. Cataract. Chorea. Cough. Depression of spirits. Diphtheritic paralysis. Dysmenia (membranous). Erysipelas. Eyes, affections of. Galactorrhea. Herpes. Hypochondriasis. Jaundice. Liver, enlarged. Melancholia. Menstruation, disordered. Numbness. Ovaries, affections of. Paralysis; Landry’s. Peritonitis. Phthisis. Pregnancy, painful breasts during. Prostatitis. Ptosis. Scrofula. Spermatorrhoea. Sterility. Stomach, affections of. Testicles, affections of. Titters. Trismus. Tumors. Ulcers. Vertigo. Vision, disordered. Wens.
Axillary glands pain, with numb feeling down arm. Induration after contusions. Yellow skin, with popular eruption; yellow finger nails. Glands enlarged and indurated, also mesenteric. Flying stitches through the glands. Tumors, piercing pains; worse, at night. Chronic ulcers with fetid discharge. Soreness about the root of tongue. Terrible nausea, acrid heartburn and acid eructation; worse on going to bed. Painful spasms of the stomach. Amelioration from eating and aggravation a few hours after meals; acidity and burning; painful spot the level of the sternum. Severe aching in and around the liver. Chronic jaundice, and pains in right hypochondrium. Sensitive, bruised, swollen, knife-like pains. Painful tightness. Frequent urging; hard, with tenesmus. Tremulous weakness after every stool. Heat and burning in rectum during stool.
Scirrhinum
Breast, cancer of. Cancer. Cancerous diathesis. Glands, enlarged. Hemorrhages. Varicose. Worms.
Characteristics.-Burnett is my authority for this nosode. He proved it on himself, and produced “a tremendous sinking at the navel,” which he regarded as a keynote for its use. Scirrh. has aided the cure of many cases of breast tumor in Burnett’s hands. With it he cured a man of hard glands which appeared on the left side of the neck after other glands had been removed by the patient’s brother, a surgeon. Hemorrhages and varicose of legs and feet, with purple points, threadworms.
Cinnamomum Ceylanicum
Cancer where pain and fetor are present. Best when skin is intact. Its use in hemorrhages has abundant clinical verification. Nosebleed. Hemorrhages from bowels, hemoptysis, etc. A strain in loins or false step brings on a profuse flow of bright blood. Post-partum hemorrhage. Flatulence and diarrhea. Feeble patients with languid circulation.
Crotalus Horridus
Bilious fever. Boils. Cancers. Carbuncles. Cerebro-spinal meningitis. Chancre. Eructation, sharp, sour, rancid. Nausea on movement, bilious vomiting. Dark green vomiting immediately on lying on right side or back. Liver disorders. Black vomit. Frequent faint sinking, hungry sensation about epigastrium with trembling and fluttering sensation lower down, Stitches in region of liver on drawing a long breath. Jaundice; malignant jaundice with hemorrhage. Stools: black, thin, like coffee-grounds, offensive; dark green, followed by debility; yellow, watery with stinging in abdomen. Intestinal hemorrhage.
Ciliary neuralgia. Convulsions. Delirium tremens. Dementia. Diphtheria. Dyspepsia. Hematuria. Hemorrhagic diathesis. Headache. Heart, affections of. Herpes. Hydrophobia. Keratitis. Lungs, affections of. Mastitis. Measles. Milk-leg. Meningitis. Ovaries, affections of. Ozaena. Palpitation. Peritonitis. Perityphlitis. Phlebitis. Psoriasis palmaris. Purpura. Pyemia. Remittent fever. Rheumatism. Scarlatina. Sleeplessness. Smallpox. Stings. Sunstroke. Syphilis. Tetanus. Thirst. Tongue inflammation; Cancer. Ulcers. Urticaria. Vaccination, effects of. Varicose. Varicocele. Vomiting, bilious. White-leg. Whooping-cough. Yellow Fever.
Ornitha Galim
Cancer. Flatulence. Gastric ulcer. Stomach, ulceration.
Appis Melifestida
Abscess. Ankles, swelling of. Apoplexy. Asthma. Bladder, affections of. Carbuncle. Cancer. Vomiting of bile. Vomiting, with inflammation of the stomach. Vomiting, with diarrhea. Burning heat in the stomach. Great soreness in pit of stomach when touched. Violent pain and sensitiveness in region of stomach. Ascites and anasarca. Constipation or Diarrhea – copious, blackish-brown, green, or whitish; orange-colored; greenish, yellow mucus; yellow watery; soft and pappy, mixed with serum; thin yellow; of suckling. Diarrhea. Diphtheria. Dissection wounds. Dropsy. Ear, erysipelas of. Erysipelas. Erythema nodosum. Eyes, affections of; optic neuritis. Feet, burning of. Gangrene. Gout. Hands, swelling of. Heart, affections of. Heat-spots. Housemaid’s knee. Hydrocephalus. Hydrothorax. Injuries. Intermittent fever. Irritation. Jealousy, effects of. Joints, synovitis. Kidney, Bright’s disease of. Labia, inflammation of. Laryngitis. Lichen. Meningitis. Menstruation, derangements of. Nettle-rash. Nose, redness of. Operations, effects of. Ovaries pain in; inflammation of; tumors of. Pancratium. Pannus. Peritonitis. Phlebitis. Pleurisy. Prostatitis. Punctured wounds. Red-gum. Rheumatism. Scarlatina. Self-abuse. Suppressed eruptions, effects of. Sycosis. Syphilis. Throat, sore. Tongue edema; ulceration of. Trachea, irritation of. Tumors. Typhus. Urethritis. Urine, abnormalities of. Vaccination. Varicose veins. Variola. Wounds.
Kreosotum
Cancer. Carbuncle. Change of life. Cholera infantum. Coccygodynia. Congenital syphilis. Constipation. Consumption. Dentition. Pains generally shooting, or tensive, or pressive, with swelling and induration of the hepatic region.-Stinging pain in the liver, Shooting and pressing pains in hepatic region. Sensation of fulness, and pain as from contusion, in liver. Pressure in region of spleen; the spot is painful to external pressure, diarrhea, or watery stools, papescent; dark brown; watery, putrid, containing undigested food; greyish or white; chipped, very fetid; frequent, greenish, watery; cadaverous-smelling. Ineffectual painful urging. Ear, affections of. Enuresis. Epithelioma. Eructation. Eruptions. Flushing. Gastro malachia. Glossitis. Hemorrhages. Hemorrhagic diathesis. Herpes. Hysterical vomiting. Irritation. Leucorrhoea. Lip, epithelioma of. Lupus. Menstruation disorders. Neuralgia. Ovary affections. Prostate irritation. Pregnancy vomiting. Pustules. Rheumatism. Seasickness. Stomach affections. Syphilis. Syphilitic deafness. Teeth caries. Toothache. Ulcers. Urine incontinence. Uterus affections. Vomiting. Whooping-cough. Yawning.
Calcarea Carbonica
Abdomen, large. Acidity. Alcohol, effects of. Anemia. Ankles, weak. Appetite, depraved. Beard, sycosis of. Bone, disease of. Brachial neuralgia. Breasts, painful. Bronchial glands, affections of. Calculus. Caries. Cataract. Chilblains. Chorea. Cold. Consumption. Corpulence. Coryza. Cough. Coxalgia. Croup. Crusta lactea. Debility. Delirium tremens. Dentition. Diabetes. Diarrhea. Dropsy. Dyspepsia. Ear, affections of. Epilepsy. Epulis. Eyes, affections of. Fever, intermittent. Fistula. Gall-stones. Glandular swellings. Gleet. Goetar. Gonorrhea. Gouty swellings. Headache. Hernia. Herpes. Hydrocephalus. Hypochondriasis. Hysteria. Impotence. Joints, affections of. Lactation, defective. Leucocythemia. Leucorrhoea. Lupus. Masturbation. Melancholia. Menstruation, disorders of. Milk-fever. Miller’s phthisis. Miscarriage. Molluscum contagious. Nervous fever. Neuralgia. Night terrors. Paralysis. Parotitis. Peritonitis. Perspiration. Plethora. Polypus. Pregnancy. Prosoplasia. Psoriasis palmaris. Ranula. Renal colic. Rhagades. Rheumatism. Rickets. Ringworm. Sciatica. Scrofula. Skin, affections of. Sleep, disorders of. Sleeplessness. Smell, disorder of. Spinal affections. Stone-cutter’s phthisis. Strains. Sycosis. Sycosis menti. Tabs mesenteric. Tapeworm. Taste, disordered. Teeth, carious. Toothache. Trachea, affections of. Tuberculosis. Tumors. Typhoid. Urticaria. Uterus, affections of. Varices. Vertigo. Walking, late. Warts. Whitlow. Worms.
Calcarea Iodata
Cancer. Consumption. Flatulence. Glandular swellings. Headache. Mollities ossium. Tumors of the breast.
Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplants
Hematopoietic stem cell transplants involve the infusion of stem cells into a cancer patient after the bone marrow has been destroyed by high-dose chemo and/or radiation.
Angiogenesis Inhibitors
Angiogenesis inhibitors are medications that inhibit the growth of new blood vessels that cancerous tumors need in order to grow.
Cryosurgery
Cryosurgery involves the application of extreme cold to kill precancerous and cancerous cells.
Photodynamic Therapy
Photodynamic therapy (PDT) involves the application of laser energy of a specific wavelength to tissue that has been treated with a photosensitizing agent, a medication that makes cancerous tissue susceptible to destruction with laser treatment. Photodynamic therapy selectively destroys cancer cells while minimizing the damage to normal, healthy tissues nearby.
What is the prognosis and survival rates of liver cancer?
The prognosis for liver cancer depends on type of treatment and multiple factors such as the size of the liver cancer, the number of lesions, the presence of spread beyond the liver, the health of the surrounding liver tissue, and the general health of the patient. Life expectancy depends on many factors that impact whether cancer is curable.
However, the survival rate is still very low. Primary liver cancer deaths are usually from liver failure, bleeding, or advanced cancer.