Late-Stage Liver Cancer: Do You Still Have a Fighting Chance?
Dealing with a diagnosis of advanced liver cancer is an ordeal no one wants to experience. Some consider it as a terminal sentence and that liver cancer treatments will not work anymore.
Despite the grim outlook, we do not have to stop speaking with our liver cancer specialist. There are steps we can take to ease our discomfort and face the future as our cancer progresses even further.
So, let us discuss how we can cope better if we find ourselves in such a trying time.
Managing Expectations With Late-Stage Liver Cancer
When liver cancer reaches the fourth stage, it means the cancer has already spread to our lymph nodes or other organs. This means our symptoms will likely worsen, such as jaundice and abdominal pain. Our bodies will also grow even more easily fatigued. This is exacerbated by any existing damage your liver already has before your cancer diagnosis.
Our healthcare providers cannot surgically remove the cancer at this point because it has spread too far. Instead, they will likely focus on slowing it down through liver cancer treatments such as immunotherapy and targeted therapy.
Knowing what to expect if we reach late-stage liver cancer gives us a better chance of prolonging the fight and hopefully even surviving our struggle.
Dealing With 4th Stage Liver Cancer Symptoms
Palliative Care Brings More Comfort
Besides prescribing various therapies to treat your 4th stage cancer, the liver cancer specialist may also advise you to start undergoing palliative care if you have not done so yet. Palliative treatments help reduce your pain and fatigue, so you do not have to live these days in discomfort.
You can have a palliative care team see to your needs at home if that is where you are most comfortable.
You also have the choice to be cared for in a hospice facility here in Singapore if your loved ones are unable to provide sufficient care for you.
Consider Joining Clinical Trials
Although conventional liver cancer treatments are limited at advanced stages, we can still consult our doctor if we can sign up for experimental therapies and clinical trials for a chance of successfully treating the cancer.
There is no guarantee that these tests can cure stage 4 liver cancer, but your participation can help boost the survival of future cancer patients.
Survival Strategies for Daily Life
Everyday life will be a struggle at this stage, but we can still find ways to cope with whatever may come our way.
Nutrition Still Matters
Liver cancer can make eating a tedious task, but a balanced diet is still important even for us if we want to keep our strength up against this disease. Here are a few tips to help you eat healthy food more comfortably:
- Eat several small meals a day, around six to eight, instead of the typical three. This helps reduce nausea, a common symptom of liver cancer.
- Consume more lean protein, fruits, and vegetables to boost immunity and help your body recover from intensive treatments.
- Always drink water to flush away the toxins in your system.
- Avoid alcohol at all costs -- this is already the likely culprit for your cancer.
Seek Out Support Groups
The fight against late-stage liver cancer is not just a physical one. It is understandably an emotionally and mentally distressing time, so do not hesitate to seek out cancer support groups here in Singapore that can give you the motivation to keep going. Your liver cancer specialist can point you in the right direction if you need help finding such communities.
Our condition also affects our loved ones too. Do not forget to help them understand what may lie ahead so they support you and prepare for whatever is to come.
All Hope Is Not Lost
The fight against liver cancer is never over until you say it's over. Though our prognosis seems bleak, do not be afraid to have hope that things can still turn for the better. A caring medical team and a supportive community at our side can help us overcome our struggles and grow a stronger outlook, no matter how uncertain the future may be.
