September is Liver Cancer Awareness Month

CEBU, Philippines - The month of September has been declared as Liver Cancer Awareness Month to raise public awareness on the life-threatening illness and to emphasize the importance of early detection of one of the most prevalent forms of cancer in the country.

Ronald delos Reyes, coordinator of the Eduardo J. Aboitiz Cancer Center (EJACC), said there is a need for public consciousness about the second most common cancer among men in the country.

Citing data from the EJACC’s Metro Cebu Population-based Cancer Registry, delos Reyes revealed that 1,561 were reported to have liver cancer and 1,349 reported to have died from the disease from 1998 to 2002.

From 2003 to 2007, the incidence of liver cancer cases in Metro Cebu reached 1,576 and deaths reached 1,209.

While liver cancer is only the eighth most common form of cancer worldwide, the Department of Health and Philippine Cancer Society figures showed that it is the second most common form of cancer among men and the ninth among women in the country.

Liver cancer is common in the Philippines because many Filipinos suffer from cirrhosis or scarring of the liver, which is a major risk factor for liver cancer. Since cirrhosis precedes 80 percent of all liver cancers, any condition that predisposes to cirrhosis indirectly causes liver cancer.

Among the causes of cirrhosis are hepatitis B, hepatitis C infection, and alcoholism.

Based on EJACC’s Population-based Cancer Registry, the top 10 types of cancer in Metro Cebu are liver cancer, followed by lung cancer, breast cancer, colorectal cancer, blood cancer, thyroid cancer, cervical cancer, uterine cancer, prostate cancer, and lymph node cancer.

Delos Reyes said that liver cancer usually does not have any symptom until the tumor is already at least 10 centimeters in size, at which time the disease has typically already spread and is in the advanced stage.

During the advanced stage, patients will experience different symptoms which may include fatigue, pain in the upper right side of the abdomen, weight loss, loss of appetite, yellowing of the skin and eyes, nausea, swelling of the abdomen and fever.

Many liver cancer patients die within a year of diagnosis. The five-year survival rate for the disease, if no treatment is undertaken, is less than five percent.

Even with treatment, the five-year survival rate for liver cancer is still a low 35 percent.

Liver cancer is preventable through measures that can significantly reduce one’s risks, such as vaccination for hepatitis B, avoidance of alcohol and proper storage of food. — (FREEMAN)