Dr Oz: Liver Cancer Risk Factors & Hepatitis B Vaccine Prevents Cancer

Dr Oz: Liver Cancer Warning Signs

Dr Oz did a segment on Liver Cancer Warning Signs, Liver Cancer Risk Factors and Liver Cancer Solutions.  Could your favorite foods actually be causing you to get Liver Cancer?  First, here is a list of Liver Cancer Warning Signs that Doctor Oz mentioned:

- Extreme fatigue

- Upper abdomen pain

- Shoulder pain

- Severe jaundice

One lady told Dr Oz that she had all of these Liver Cancer Warning Signs, and when her doctor did a blood test, he found that she had severe Anemia.  He followed up the blood test with an ultrasound and saw that she had a huge tumor the size of a melon growing on her liver.

Dr Lorna Dove told Dr Oz that you can have a lot of extra liver, which means that you can actually have Liver Cancer and feel pretty good.  So by the time you actually notice the Liver Cancer symptoms, it is often late in the game and you have far fewer options.  An interesting fact about the liver is that it has the ability to regenerate itself.  It is one of the biggest internal organs that we have.  Dr Oz had a sample of a healthy liver, and his assistant said that it felt like an eraser.  Then, Doctor Oz showed a Cirrhotic Liver that had been damaged.  You could even see what looked like white masses, which was the cancer, invading the liver tissue.

Dr Oz: Liver Cancer Risk Factors

Dr Oz gave two Liver Cancer Risk Factors that can increase your chances of getting this form of Cancer:

Liver Cancer Risk Factor #1

If you have an Apple-Shaped Body Type, then you are at an increased risk of getting Liver Cancer.  Obesity in general increases your risk of Liver Cancer and is associated with Fatty Liver, which leads to cirrhosis, and can lead to Liver Cancer.  Dr Oz said that you never want your waist size to be more than half of your height.

Liver Cancer Risk Factor #2

Chronic alcohol consumption is the second risk factor for Liver Cancer.  We are not talking about one glass of wine with dinner, but rather heavy consumption of alcohol on a regular basis.  Your liver can regenerate itself, but heavy alcohol consumption can inflame your liver, so it tries to repair itself and can lead to cirrhosis from the scar tissue that builds up.  And ultimately, this can lead to Liver Cancer.

Dr Oz: Liver Cancer Solutions

Dr Oz gave two solutions to help prevent Liver Cancer:

Liver Cancer Solution #1: Eliminate Sugar

You should eliminate added sugars from your diet.  It all goes back to obesity.  By decreasing your risk of getting a Fatty Liver, you decrease your risk of getting Diabetes and Liver Cancer.

Liver Cancer Solution #2: Hepatitis B Vaccine

Hepatitis B can lead to Liver Cancer, but you can prevent getting Hepatitis B altogether by getting a vaccine for it.  If you are over 40 years old though, you are likely to have not received the Hepatitis B Vaccine, so you might want to talk to your physician about getting it now if you are at a high risk for getting Liver Cancer.

Dr Oz said that if you believe you might have Liver cancer, there are several typical screening tests that are done.  You can have a blood test that looks at your liver’s enzymes.  You can also get a Hepatitis B test.

Dr Oz: American Liver Foundation

Dr Oz said he thinks that Liver Cancer can be eradicated during our lifetime, especially through the great support for Liver Cancer Research being done by the American Liver Foundation.  He encouraged everyone to make a donation to this organization, which can be done here.