What's the prognosis with a liver cancer diagnosis?
Terri1 asked...
How long does someone have when they find out they have liver cancer?
Expert Answer
Bonnie Bajorek Daneker is author and creator of the The Compassionate Caregiver's Series, which includes "The Compassionate Caregiver's Guide to Caring for Someone with Cancer," "The Journey of Grief," "Handbook on Hospice and Palliative Care," and other titles on cancer diagnosis and end of life. She speaks regularly at cancer research and support functions, including PANCAN and Cancer Survivor's Network. She is a former member of the Executive Committee of the CSN at St. Joseph's Hospital of Atlanta and the Georgia Chapter of the Lymphoma Research Foundation.
When someone you know has been diagnosed with liver cancer, he or she needs to find out several things about the cancer:
- The type (primary vs. secondary)
- Extent (spread within the liver and outside the liver)
- Presence of any other significant liver disease, like cirrhosis.
With this information, your doctor should be able to estimate what to expect if the disease follows its normal course, that is the prognosis and what symptoms you may need to manage.