Fearing liver cancer when you’re living with fatty liver disease
Even with MASH, there are steps I can take to reduce my risk of liver cancer
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Yesterday, as I puttered around my house doing some spring cleaning, I watched a gray, rainy sky turn to snow. The flakes were the chunky yet fluffy kind that often stir up nostalgia for childhood snow days.
Before long, however, the snow stopped. The sun flirted its way through the clouds, winking at the earth before generously melting the fallen flakes away. Then it kicked the clouds to the curb and danced in the sky so brightly you’d never guess that just a few hours earlier my parkside home had been covered in snow.
Weirdly enough, it reminded me of my dance with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH).
Like many chronic diseases, MASH has stages, and each one carries its own worries. One day, you learn you have fatty liver disease. Eventually, if treatment and care aren’t taken seriously, you may find yourself sitting across from a doctor who’s explaining that you need a liver transplant or that your liver has become cancerous.
It’s an odd dash through this disease — like rain, snow, and sunshine on a single spring morning.
Not today, cancer
A few years ago, I arrived at my gastroenterologist’s office for my annual spring appointment. As I signed in, one of the nurses pulled me aside and asked if I’d had anything to eat or drink that morning.
Since it was still early and I hadn’t had time to grab breakfast, I told her no and asked why.
She explained that the office had been trying to reach me for the past week because my cancer markers were off. My doctor had requested that I get an ultrasound before my appointment.
Cancer.
The word hung in the air like one of those chunky snowflakes.
“No, I haven’t eaten,” I said. “The only thing I’ve had is water with my medications.”
Within minutes, I was whisked several floors down in the hospital, handed a gown, and surrounded by sympathetic sighs from nurses hustling me into radiology for an unexpected ultrasound.
Soon, the scan was finished. I got dressed and was told to return to my doctor’s office for further instructions.
As I made my way back upstairs, my stomach twisted into knots. I couldn’t have come this far — with all I’d done to fight this disease — only to find out I had liver cancer.
Or could I?
While waiting in the exam room, I opened my phone and began searching for what I might expect to hear. Symptoms. Survival rates. Treatment options.
Before I could dig very far, my doctor walked in. He shook my hand and smiled as usual. I was still tense, but I began to calm slightly.
Before he could speak, I asked, “Well, what have you got, Doc?”
He explained his office had been trying to reach me after my pre-appointment blood work came back. The abnormal test result, he said, could easily be a false positive.
That was the most calming thing I had heard all morning.
Then he told me the ultrasound looked good. My struggling liver showed no tumors.
“No cancer, Miss Hudson,” he said. “Not today. But it’s something we will always have to be vigilant about.”
I let out the breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding.
No cancer. Yay me.
But what if it hadn’t turned out that way? I couldn’t help thinking about the people for whom it does end differently — the ones who hear those words and feel the floor fall out beneath them.
Relief and sadness can live in the same moment.
As it turned out, my doctor’s office didn’t have my new cellphone number. I had recently changed it after being plagued by relentless spam calls and texts.
Note to self, and to you: Always make sure your contact information is up to date with your healthcare providers.
Rates of hepatocellular carcinoma, the most common form of liver cancer, have been rising alongside rates of fatty liver disease, according to the Mayo Clinic. It’s a frightening diagnosis, but one that can often be prevented or delayed by reducing or eliminating alcohol, improving diet, and exercising regularly.
Those steps help your body far more than worry ever will.
Hopefully, you’re able to see your doctor regularly. Talking about your health risks can be scary, but it’s a conversation worth having at your yearly appointments. Ask for help if you need it. A nutritionist referral or an exercise buddy can make lifestyle changes easier to stick with. Momentum matters when it comes to health.
As my next spring appointment approaches in a few weeks, I’m grateful to know I’m in a much better place. And while I may have 99 problems, at least for now, liver cancer isn’t one of them.
Note: Liver Disease News is strictly a news and information website about the disease. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. The opinions expressed in this column are not those of Liver Disease News or its parent company, Bionews, and are intended to spark discussion about issues pertaining to liver disease.
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