LAGAWE, Ifugao (PIA) — The Provincial Health Office promotes the practice of healthy lifestyle to avoid liver diseases.
According to the National Nutrition Council, liver cancer is the sixth most frequently diagnosed cancer worldwide as of 2018 and fourth leading cancer type in the Philippines. Liver cancer ranks second in cancers that lead to mortality among Filipinos as of 2020.
Liver cancer or Hepatocellular carcinoma is a malignant tumor that develops from chronic liver disease, especially in individuals with cirrhosis or liver damage or those with Hepatitis B infection.
Experts say unhealthy lifestyle is among the factors leading to the rising number of liver cancer. Lifestyle factors include chronic and excessive alcohol and tobacco use which is more relevant in individuals with a family history of liver cancer.
Yvonne Indunan of the Provincial Health Office- Ifugao encouraged the public to have a healthy lifestyle to reduce the risk of cirrhosis or the scarring of the liver. This and chronic infection with the Hepatitis B virus are among the major risk factors that cause liver damage and injury.
She emphasized that drinking alcohol should be done in moderation. This means no more than one drink a day for women and no more than two drinks a day for men.
Maintaining a healthy weight, getting vaccinated against hepatitis B, and asking your doctor about liver cancer screening could also help protect people from developing liver cancer and viral hepatitis.
Indunan explained that the outlook or prognosis for liver cancer is poor because it is often diagnosed very late in its course. But the disease is preventable because the major risk factors for the disease have already been identified.
Some of the signs and symptoms of primary liver cancer may include loss of weight without trying, loss of appetite, upper abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting, general weakness and fatigue, abdominal swelling, yellow discoloration of the skin and the white of the eyes or jaundice, and white chalky stools.
The month of January is observed as Liver Cancer and Viral Hepatitis Awareness and Prevention Month. (JDP/FBR-PIA CAR, Ifugao)
