I worked at an international ministry when I heard that one of my co-workers, Clayton had developed liver cancer. He had hepatitis C for years and the disease progressed to cancer. Clayton lost a lot of weight before he died.

At the same ministry a few years later, another co-worker, Phil, got sick while traveling with the ministry president and main speaker. When he got back home from the road trip, he saw a doctor and it wasn’t long before I heard that he was in the hospital with stage 4 liver cancer. It was only a few days after we visited him in the hospital that Phil died from this dreaded disease.

In 2000, liver cancer was listed as the ninth leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States. By 2016, liver cancer had moved up to number six on the leading causes of cancer death in US. The CDC says that from 2000 to 2016, deaths due to liver cancer have increased by 43% in the US.

According to the American Cancer Society, there will be about 42,200 new cases of liver and intrahepatic bile duct cancer (11,610 will be women and 30,610 will be men). They also estimate that in 2018, about 30,200 people in the United States will die of these cancers (9,660 women and 20,540 men). Yes, the death rate for men from liver cancer is between 2 and 2.5 times higher than for women. The death rate from liver cancer begins to significantly increase for ages 55 and older.

Vermont has the lowest liver cancer death rate, Illinois was just about in the middle and the location in the US with highest rate of liver cancer deaths was Washington DC.

Worldwide, liver cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths with over 600,000 deaths a year. It’s most common in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia.

There are many causes of liver cancer, one of which is genetic, but other causes are believed to be diet, excessive drinking alcohol, drug abuse, reaction to some prescription drugs, other diseases, especially hepatitis B and C, lack of exercise, exposure to aflatoxins (produced by molds that form on poorly stored crops like corn and peanuts), and more. To be honest, most experts aren’t sure of what  causes liver cancer to develop.

One of the reasons so many people die from liver cancer is that in the early stages, they often don’t have symptoms or they don’t recognize the symptoms as being anything serious. By the time some of the symptoms appear, the liver has progressed to a more serious stage.

Symptoms to watch for include:

• Abdominal swelling
• Fatigue and general weakness
• Jaundice – yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes
• Loss of appetite
• Loss of weight without dieting
• Nausea
• Upper abdominal pain
• Vomiting
• White and chalky stools

With liver cancer being on the increase, it is advised that everyone learn the symptoms and that if they suspect anything to see a doctor as soon as possible. The sooner the better.