Doctors' Advice on Surviving Liver Cancer

Surviving liver cancer requires getting the right treatments and making specific lifestyle changes. You can increase your chances of survival by undergoing transplant, surgical options, chemotherapy or through a combination of the latter two. Lifestyle adjustments add benefits of reducing liver stress and helping regeneration of the organ.

Liver Transplantation

• The American Society of Transplantation explains that if you have had a liver transplant, the three months following the operation are particularly crucial. The AST's advice for liver transplant patients is to stay away from crowds and people who are sick in particular, as well as garden soil, lakewater, and community pools, which are all at high risk for causing bacterial infections.

  The doctors at the AST also note that once you have had your liver transplant you must follow strict dietary guidelines. These include meat being well cooked, again to reduce risk of bacteria. You should also eliminate fatty and high-sugar foods, as well as alcohol, since these items can further stress the liver. The AST also advises that you take all of your medications as prescribed and never take any kind of medication--even vitamins or herbs--without first consulting your doctor.

Surgical Options

• Georgia oncologist Dr. Ken Dixon explains that surgical options are often the best route when liver transplantation is not an option. Dixon's advice is to consult with a surgical oncologist first, since surgery can eliminate the liver tumors in some cases. Dixon suggests that only when surgery is ruled out should a chemotherapy treatment be undertaken on its own--although Dixon does say that chemo can be added to many post liver cancer-surgery treatment plans.

  Specifically, Dixon's advice to liver cancer patients is to explore the option of resection first. Resection simply means removal of the tumor through surgery. Other techniques include cryosurgery, which uses extremely cold temperatures to destroy liver tumors, or subjecting the cancer to radio waves or injections of ethanol, both techniques called ablation. Dixon says that you should seek out these remedies only after resection has been rejected as an option.

Chemotheraphy Treatment

• The American Liver Foundation reminds us that chemotherapy on its own cannot cure liver cancer. Likewise, Dr. Dixon calls chemotherapy a "fallback position," and advises patients to undergo it only in conjunction with additional treatments or to reduce cancer aggressiveness to a point where other options can be undertaken.

  Yet great strides have occurred in liver cancer treatment by chemotherapy. The American Liver Foundation says that you can always ask your doctor about any clinical trials you may participate in. Just such a trial was conducted by surgical oncologist Dr. Richard Alexander, who advised some liver cancer patients to take a course of chemo injected directly into the liver; the results were extremely positive in shrinking melanoma that had spread to the liver.

  Finally, all liver cancer patients can benefit from online and community support groups, says the American Liver Foundation, which has chapters all over the country providing support. Surviving your liver cancer is a treatment plan that should include addressing and sharing your worries, fears, and hopes.