What are the symptoms of liver cancer in the middle and late stages? 7 dietary taboos for liver cancer in the late stages

Once liver cancer reaches the middle or late stage, it basically enters a typical symptom stage, and its symptoms mainly include liver pain, fatigue, weight loss, jaundice, ascites, etc. If it enters this state, then the condition of the liver cancer patient has begun to deteriorate. So, what are the symptoms of liver cancer in the middle and late stages, and what should we pay attention to in our daily diet?

The specific symptoms of liver cancer in the middle and late stages are as follows:

⒈ Fatigue, weight loss, general weakness. A small number of patients may develop cachexia in the late stage.

⒉Gastrointestinal symptoms:

Loss of appetite, indigestion, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea are easily overlooked due to their lack of sex specificity.

⒊Pain in the liver area:

The most common symptoms are intermittent and persistent dull pain or bloating, which is caused by the rapid growth of the cancer, which tightens the liver capsule and causes the tumor to invade the diaphragm. The pain may radiate to the right shoulder or right back. The tumor growing to the right back may cause right waist pain. The sudden onset of severe abdominal pain and peritoneal irritation signs indicates subcapsular bleeding of the cancerous nodule or rupture into the abdominal cavity.

4. Fever:

Generally, the temperature is low and reaches above 39℃, with continuous fever or low fever in the afternoon or high fever of remittent type. Fever is related to the absorption of necrotic products of tumor. Compression or invasion of bile duct by tumor may cause biliary infection.

5. Symptoms of metastatic lesions:

There are corresponding symptoms at the place where the tumor metastasizes, which sometimes become the first symptoms of liver cancer. For example, metastasis to the lungs can cause coughing and hemoptysis; metastasis to the pleura can cause chest pain and bloody pleural effusion; embolism of the pulmonary artery or branches can cause pulmonary infarction, which can cause sudden severe dyspnea and chest pain; blocking the inferior vena cava with cancer thrombus can cause severe edema of the lower limbs and even a drop in blood pressure; blocking the hepatic vein can cause Budd-Chiari syndrome and edema of the lower limbs; metastasis to the bones can cause local pain or pathological fractures; metastasis to the spine or compression of the spinal nerves can cause local pain and paraplegia; intracranial metastasis can cause corresponding localization symptoms and signs, such as intracranial hypertension, which can lead to brain herniation and sudden death.

⒍Other systemic symptoms:

The endocrine or metabolic syndrome caused by abnormal metabolism of the tumor itself or the various effects of cancer tissue on the body is called paraneoplastic syndrome, which may sometimes precede the symptoms of liver cancer itself.

7. Paraneoplastic syndrome: The abnormal metabolism of the tumor itself affects the body and causes endocrine or metabolic abnormalities, which is called paraneoplastic syndrome. Hypoglycemia and polycythemia are the most common, while other rare syndromes include hyperlipidemia, hypercalcemia, precocious puberty, gonadotropin secretion syndrome, carcinoid syndrome, etc.

⒏ Signs of liver cancer - jaundice:

Jaundice is a common sign of advanced liver cancer. Diffuse liver cancer and cholangiocarcinoma are most likely to cause jaundice. Jaundice is mostly caused by compression of the bile duct or invasion of the bile duct by cancer, or compression of the bile duct by enlarged lymph nodes metastasized from the liver hilum. In a few cases, the liver cancer tissue grows into the bile duct, and the mass blocks the bile duct, causing obstructive jaundice.

What should patients with advanced liver cancer pay attention to in terms of diet? There are many things to pay attention to in terms of diet for patients with advanced liver cancer, but the most important ones are the following:

1. Liver cancer patients should pay attention to high-protein, high-calorie, high-vitamin, low-fat foods, such as lean meat, fish, eggs, dairy products, soy products, fresh vegetables and fruits, etc., and limit the intake of animal oil. A high-fat diet can affect or even aggravate the condition, while a low-fat diet can alleviate symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, and abdominal distension in liver cancer patients.

2. Because liver cancer patients consume a lot of nutrients, they must ensure that they have enough nutrition. An effective way is to diversify the diet and pay attention to the reasonable combination of food to make sure it has color, fragrance and taste to increase appetite.

3. Avoid irritating foods and foods with excessive plant fiber, especially fish bones and chicken and duck bones, so as not to cause rupture of the esophageal or gastric veins and massive bleeding in patients.

4. Pay attention to the supplement of vitamins. Vitamins A, C, E, etc. have certain auxiliary anti-tumor effects. Vitamin C is mainly found in fresh fruits and vegetables, while carotene can be converted into vitamin A after entering the human body. Vitamin E is rich in beans, milk and eggs.

5. Patients with fever should drink more water to help dissipate heat. Those who suffer from frequent nausea and vomiting should temporarily fast or eat small amounts to reduce food irritation to the stomach, increase the frequency of vomiting, lose body fluids and consume physical energy.

6. Patients in the early stage of hepatic coma or hepatic coma should be given a low-protein diet with a total daily protein amount of 20-40g. Try to use animal protein with high bioavailability, such as milk, eggs, lean meat, etc.

7. For patients with ascites, sodium intake should be restricted and a low-salt or salt-free diet should be given.