Liver cancer treatment depends on your over all state of health and on how advanced the cancer is.
Primary liver cancer (cancer that starts in the liver) is rare in Britain.  More men than women are affected and about 2,500 cases are diagnosed per year.   However, unfortunately secondary liver cancer (cancers which start elsewhere but spread to the liver) is far more common.  Cancerous tumors can start in many organs of the body such as lungs, breasts or bowel for example, and then can spread (metastasize) to the liver.  This is also known as metastatic liver cancer.

Treatments vary depending on whether the cancer has metastasized and where it is located in the body.  Side effects are caused by all treatments and full knowledge of each treatment is important before proceeding.  Treatment for patients with secondary liver cancer will depend on where the original cancer has spread from. 

Medical professionals are researching new drugs to try and increase liver cancer life expectancy.  So far, surgery is the best treatment for liver cancer and can provide the only possible cure.  Unfortunately however, less than one in three people who have cancer of the liver can have surgery to excise it because it is likely is has spread or is too large.  Stage 4 liver cancer is when the tumor has spread to other organs or lymph nodes and it can be of any size.

That said, if it is possible, there are several different surgeries available namely, a lobectomy which removes a whole lobe of the liver, a liver resection when only the cancerous part of the liver is taken away and a whole liver transplant where the liver in its entirety is removed and replaced with another healthy human liver.  An extremely small amount of patients are eligible for a replacement however.

The liver has an incredible capacity to repair itself and if a resection or lobectomy is performed, within a few weeks only, it can grow back to its normal size even if as much as 80% is taken away.

Other treatments include ethanol injections, (an alcoholic liquid which kills cancer cells) is another possible treatment if the cancer is small.  Treatment is localized and injected straight into the skin directly in the cancerous area.  In each injection session there may be one or two injections and the amount of sessions needed depends on the size of the tumor and how many there are.

Chemotherapy is unfortunately not very good at treating liver cancer, however chemoembolization could be more effective.  Chemotherapy uses medicines injected into an artery or vein which destroys cancer cells, shrinks tumors and reduces the symptoms they cause.  Chemoembolization uses these medicines and combines them with lipiodol, an oily substance which assists chemotherapy drugs to stay longer in the liver and so having a better effect.  Additionally, very small amounts of gel are injected into the surrounding area which starves the tumor of its essential blood supply and so killing it.

Radio frequency ablation destroys cancer cells using heat from radiowaves.  A narrow needle is inserted into the tumor acting as a vehicle for radiowaves to be passed down to kill the cancerous cells.

Radiotherapy seeks to kill cancer cells but unfortunately leads to damage of healthy liver cells and so, it is not usually used.
Liver cancer symptoms include swollen abdomen, loss of appetite, weight loss, sickness, jaundice and fatigue but it is likely in the early stages that no symptoms will be detected.

Mesothelioma cancer is a totally different type of cancer and caused by exposure to asbestos. Mesothelioma symptoms can be general like, shortness of breath, chest pain and a persistent cough.

Unfortunately, the liver cancer survival rate is low with the three-year survival rate being less than 5%.  Liver cancer prognosis is affected by various factors such as whether the cancer has spread.  Adults have a poorer outlook as their cancer is usually diagnosed too late.  When symptoms occur, the disease is usually in advanced stages.  Only 10% of patients are diagnosed in the early stages which is when surgery, the most effective form of liver cancer treatment, can help.
 

With advancement in research there are many breast cancer treatment options to choose from and the one you are offered depends on certain factors.  Scientists have recently claimed that they have discovered a new route to a potential breast cancer cure.  Currently there are combinations of treatments available.  The main treatments are surgery, hormone therapy, biological (Herceptin), radiotherapy and chemotherapy.  These may be given individually or in combination depending on several factors such as:

the type of breast cancer present
whether menopause has occurred or not
the size of the tumor
the grade of the cancer cells
the stage of the cancer
whether particular receptors are present
the general health of the patient

All these factors will be taken into account by the doctor. 

Cancers are given stages and grades to help doctors categorize and assess the tumor and to decide the appropriate treatments to give.  Breast cancer stages consider whether the cancer has spread and how much it has grown.  The grade means how the cancer cells appear  when viewed through a microscope.  There are three grades namely, low (grade 1 slow growing), intermediate grade (grade 2) and high grade (grade 3) which is a rapidly growing tumor.  These have a higher risk of returning after initial treatment and if surgery has taken place to excise the tumor, a course of chemotherapy will likely be administered to destroy any lingering cancer cells and therefore reduce the risk of it returning.   The grades and stages of breast cancer give a general rule of thumb as it is impossible to generalize about how a tumor will behave.

If the cancer has spread beyond the localized breast area and lymph nodes in the armpit then treatment my not include surgery but a course of chemotherapy and radiotherapy in conjunction with other treatments. The majority of people however start their treatment with surgery and there are different types of surgery that maybe offered depending on the position and size of the tumor.  A mastectomy is where the whole breast is removed with a reconstruction possible later on.  A lumpectomy is where the tumor itself is removed along with a small amount of surrounding breast tissue.  Then course of radiotherapy focused on the breast will likely be offered. 

There are many factors to consider when choosing treatment and mostly is is about how the patient feels about their options once a selection of appropriate treatments is offered.  There are no correct or incorrect answers to these decisions and each woman feels differently.  It can feel overwhelming to have a whole breast removed, so, if possible, a lumpectomy with radiotherapy is preferable for some women. Some feel they do not want radiotherapy but others will choose this if it leads to retaining their breast. 

There are different types of breast cancer and different types of cancers altogether.  Mesothelioma cancer is a completely different type of cancer and caused by exposure to asbestos. Mesothelioma symptoms can be general like chest pain, shortness of breath and a persistent cough.   Symptoms of breast cancer however, are more specific and things to look out for include a dimpling of the skin, change in breast shape or size, a thickening or lump in one area of the breast, irregular nipple shape especially if it turns inward like it’s being pulled from the inside, a rash on the nipple or area surrounding, nipple discharge (blood-stained), a lump or swelling in the armpit.

There are many breast cancer facts, features, symptoms and breast cancer treatment options to be aware of, but advancing knowledge and research means there are many options available to those suffering from this disease.