Yes, there are various treatments available to treat liver cancer, however, treatment options depend on several factors and these are as follows:
- How much of your liver is affected by cancer?
- Your overall health and your preferences.
- How much of your cancer has spread?
- The damage to the remaining cancer-free area of the liver.
Available Treatment Options for Liver Cancer
The following are some of the commonly performed procedures at the hospitals under We Care India to cure the liver cancer and these are:
a) Surgery: The surgeons at the hospitals under We Care India perform the two types of surgeries and these are as follows:
- Hepatectomy: This is a surgery where a portion of the liver is removed. Your surgeon generally performs hepatectomy if the cancer is in one part of the liver and the rest of your liver is working fine. The remaining section of the liver takes over the functions of the entire liver. Your liver may get back to its normal size within a few weeks. A hepatectomy is a surgery which may not be possible if the patient has advanced cirrhosis, even if a tumour is small.
- Liver transplantation: Generally, the surgeons will perform this procedure when cancer has not spread outside the liver, a suitable donor is found and your surgeon will perform the liver transplant. After, the surgery the patient will be closely watched for the signs that your body is accepting the new liver or not. Liver transplant is usually an effective treatment for people with a small tumour because transplantation removes a tumour and the damaged liver.
b) Radiation therapy: Radiation therapy is a liver cancer treatment in which your surgeon will use the high-energy x-rays or other particles to destroy cancer cells. The radiation therapy can only be given by the specialist to treat cancer and he/she is called a radiation oncologist.
c) Chemotherapy: Chemotherapy is a treatment in which your surgeon will use the drugs to destroy cancer cells, usually by ending the cancer cells’ ability to grow and divide. While performing the chemotherapy your surgeon will inject the drugs into the hepatic artery, and the flow of blood through the artery is blocked for a short time so the chemotherapy stays in a tumour longer. By blocking the blood supply to a tumour can also destroy cancer cells.
d) Radioembolization: Radioembolization is similar to chemotherapy, but in this procedure, your surgeon will place radioactive beads into the artery that supplies a tumour with blood. The radiation will be directly delivered by these into a tumour when they become trapped in the small blood vessels of a tumour
Recurrence of Liver Cancer
Cancer which comes back in your body after treatment is called recurrent. Recurrence can be local or distant which means either it is in or near the same place it started or it spread to organs such as the lungs or bone. The return of liver cancer after the treatment depends on many factors such as from where it comes back, the type of initial treatment, and how well the liver is functioning. Patients with liver cancer which recurs in the liver might be eligible for further surgery or local treatments like ablation or embolization. If the cancer is widespread in the body then the targeted therapy, immunotherapy, or chemotherapy drugs may be the best options to cure the liver cancer.
What if The Treatment Does Not Work?
Recovery from cancer is not always possible. If your cancer is not cured or controlled, then it may be called advanced or terminal disease.
Patients who have advanced cancer and the chances of their survival are less than 6 months need to consider a type of palliative care which is known as hospice care. Hospice care is a care which is designed to provide the best possible quality of life to those people who are near the end of their life. You can speak to the representative of the We Care India about hospice care option at your home as well.
