What to do if you have ascites and swollen feet in the late stage of liver cancer? You can solve it through these methods

The late stage of liver cancer is the period when patients need to persist the most. Do not give up treatment just because it is in the late stage, and do not be afraid that the treatment will not be effective. If you do not persist, there will be no hope of cure. Many patients with late stage liver cancer will have symptoms such as ascites and swollen feet, which will bring a lot of inconvenience to the patients' lives. Patients need to go to the hospital in time to check the cause and receive symptomatic treatment.

Due to liver cell degeneration, necrosis, and fibrous tissue hyperplasia, the intrahepatic vascular bed is compressed, twisted, deformed, and narrowed, blocking the blood vessels, causing congestion in the hepatic sinusoids, greatly reducing blood flow, and significantly increasing the input volume greater than the output volume, which increases the portal vein pressure. At the same time, the capillary vein pressure also increases. Over time, the blood return of the gastrointestinal tract, mesentery, peritoneum, etc. is blocked, the vascular permeability increases, and the plasma components in the blood leak out, forming ascites.

The causes of edema and pain in the late stage of liver cancer include portal vein thrombosis, hypoproteinemia, tumor compression of venous return, etc. If one foot is swollen, it depends on whether there is a problem with the venous return of this limb.

Liver cancer invading the intrahepatic portal vein causes hepatic artery-portal vein shunt, which often induces severe portal hypertension, resulting in a series of symptoms such as upper gastrointestinal bleeding, massive ascites, intractable diarrhea, and foot pain and swelling.

At present, it is not easy to see the effect of Chinese and Western diuretics for patients with cancer thrombus in portal vein or hepatic vein. For patients with cancer thrombus in portal vein, hepatic vein and inferior vena cava, hepatic artery perfusion chemotherapy can be tried. Hepatic artery embolization is generally not used. Biological therapy or traditional Chinese medicine can be used for treatment, especially traditional Chinese medicine is effective. Only when the ascites is controlled can the swelling be reduced.

Edema and pain will almost always occur in the late stage of cancer, and diuretics are usually taken, but the effect is not ideal. Cancer cells will also absorb nutrients from the body, causing edema due to nutritional deficiency.