Liver Cancer Survival Rates
Thursday, February 5th, 2009This article aims to give informative discussion about Liver Cancer Survival Rates.
Liver Cancer Survival Rates: Definition
Liver cancer survival rates are low because the disease is diagnosed late most often and death usually occurs within a few months of diagnosis. The high incidence of the disease in the developing world may be because of late diagnosis and poor treatment options. Liver transplants may not be a viable option in these countries. Moreover, in these countries only 30% of Liver Cancers are diagnosed when surgery is a possible treatment option.
Global Liver Cancer Survival Rates
The overall worldwide Liver Cancer survival rates indicate that only 7% of Liver Cancer patients will be alive5 years after diagnosis. In cases where surgery is a possible option to remove the cancer, 75% will survive for 1 year, 50% for 3 years and 30% for 5 years.
Liver cancers are of two types, primary and secondary. Liver Cancer is relatively rare in the western world where Primary Liver Cancer accounts for just 1% of total cancers detected. The annual incidence of Liver Cancer in the US is 16600 cases. Most of these cases are Metastatic Hepatic Secondary Carcinoma which is a secondary Liver Cancer that spreads to the liver from cancers in the other organs of the body such as the bowel, colon, breast or lungs.
Primary Liver cancer is more common in Asia and Africa and in other developing countries which account for 80% of Liver Cancers worldwide. Primary Liver Cancer comes from the liver tissue itself, due to previous chronic liver disease like hepatitis or cirrhosis.
Liver Cancer Survival Rates Are High With Surgery
Liver cancer survival rates are highest with a liver transplant, as high as 75% for 5 years. However, the stage of the cancer when the transplant is done is important to determine the survival rate. Liver transplants at a metastatic stage of Liver Cancer do not offer any survival rate at all because sooner or later the cancer will spread from the other organs to the new liver.
Surgical resection is also reasonably successful when tumors are localized, giving patients significant Liver Cancer Survival Rates, in some case as high as those of a liver transplant.
the patient is my fater,i need to know how long he can survive since we dedect his lever cancer yesterday only,he is of 68 yr age,is there any possible of him to survie longer through treatment.
I was diagnosed with multiple secondary liver metasteses about a month ago. There is a big difference between this(I have small cell carcinoma) and say a primary liver cancer (which is one that starts in the liver; as opposed to mine where it has come from somewhere else).
I was immediately started on chemotherapy, which reduced the size of my liver (it was about twice the normal size. I also almost immediately started eating apricot kernels (B17), Zeolite, AgariGold, CoEnzyme Q10, and eating only organic food, lots of vitamins, and no tap water.
The oncologists are pleased with my good reaction so far, but who knows what the future holds. The doctors expect me to go into remission initially, but after months the cancer will come back, and will not be so easily treated. I am putting my faith in the short term in doctors, but in the long term in “natural” treatments.
Time will tell.
It is vital to retain a positive outlook. Meditation, etc are said to help many.
Best of luck.
Hi,
About 4 and a half years ago my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. She had a masectomy – chemo and radiation. She has since gone for her regular check up once every six months. In March, they told her that everything is looking great. Now, a month later – she got very ill again. So, we took her to Hospital where they did all the tests and are now saying that it is liver cancer. We are confused as one Doctor says this where another says another. We can only see the Oncologist the 30th of April. We don’t know what the chances are for her??? It looks that the cancer spread from the breast now into the liver. She is very ill, we got some strong meds for her. What are the chances for her, can see get well with chemo or not really??? Thanks, Belinda
Hopefully the fact that the oncologist is not seeing your mother straight away is indication that they think it is not so desperately urgent that they need to see your mother and start treatment immediately.
As I am not a doctor, I cannot comment on your mum’s treatment. I can say that I am still going strong now after 4 rounds of chemo and 3 1/2 months since being diagnosed with innumerable liver metastases, and am not even experiencing the adverse side-effects of chemo – whether because of all the things I described in my earlier reply or not, I don’t know.
I will say a prayer for your mum. I hope she improves soon.
My brother-in-law was dx with liver cancer on 03/19/08 and it was suppose to have started in his colon and I believe it was at stage 4 in his colon when they discovered it. He has been receiving chemo orally and through a port for the past 14 months, sometimes with a 6 week break in between. He was 60 when he was diagnosed.
Can you tell me anything about his survival time medically. I dont need an answer faithwise, only medically.
my brother in law was dx on 03/19/08 with liver cancer, he has been receiving chemo orally and thru a port for the past 14 months; it started as stage 4 in his colon, can you tell me what his survival rate is medically?
Hello I was diagnosed with early stage liver cancer HCC I also have HepC and Cirossis I am 45 years old and dont seem to be suffering any side effects from the cancer. At this time they are monitoring the tumor via CT Scan and bloodwork.Was told if they see changes they would put me on transplant list. I understand im not eligable for resection but wonder if i should seek another opinion for other possible treatment. Also wondering how much time I have from what i have read I only have 7% chance of making 5 years.
Thanx For Reading
David
I have metastatic liver cancer. I was diagnosed in July of 2008. I’ve had chemotherapy and SIRT treatments.Things seem to be going good so far. Wondering how much time I have left to live??
An acquaintance was found to have liver cancer through some screening just a few days prior to having surgery to remove cancer from his colon. He is 83 years old, and I’m curious of his chances of survival, and for about how long. Because of his advanced age, it sounds near-criminal to me to proceed with colon surgery even though cancer had already been detected in his liver.
My little brother Mark was just diagnosed with liver cancr from another source. He did have esophagal and stomach cancer which he did chemo and readiation treatment from Cleveland Clinic. Outlook was good now not so good. there was a spot on his liver and it has grown and it is cancer. What to do?
hi i have a son who is 4 about to turn 5 he had a liver transplant in march 21,06
he was recently diagnosed with ebv-ptld his ebv numbers went frm 32,000 frm 65,000 they prescribed him valcyte a antiviral medicine which i would expect the levels to actually come down but instead they doubled..they tell me not to worry unless his ebv levels hit the 90,000.. what i want to knw wht are the chances he can survive this?and do all patients who have ebv-ptld end up eventually dying from it??hes currently on rapamune and prednisone he was also having trouble with his platelet numbers which they treated with ivig..
My brother-in-law was diagnosed with primary liver cancer. He was up and walking around, although he was tired, for a month and a half. He had a round of chemo and didn’t really respond to it very well. He rapidly deteriorated and died within three months from the time he was diagnosed. He didn’t seem to have a great deal of pain, mostly fatigue, but it is a very fast moving cancer and I’m sorry if anyone has just recently been diagnosed with it.
I think the key thing to remember is that there are choices available outside of chemo/surgery/radiation. I would definitely recommend anyone read Suzanne Somers’ book Knockout, it has a decent summary of the other options, which you can then look into further.
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try herbal therapy if all else fails….the liver has a wonderful way to regenerate….my exfriend lived a long long time with a liver the size only of a quater big!!!he only died because he tried to stop drinking too quick and it froze up his kidney….God bless you all hang tight
My dad has a mass on his liver and abdomen, 3 CT scans and 2 biopsy’s and are still unable to tell us what it is? Now they did a guided CT scan and we are waiting results.. He was fatigued, weight loss but now is eating and feeling much better we are confused and so are the doctors treating him. Waiting and praying for good results.
My dad just found out that he has colon cancer and the doctors said that it spread into his liver and my be his lungs. What am I to do as a daughter, I feel so bad for my mom and I don’t know what to do.
My 33 year old disabled daughter was tired after Christmas, and had some undistinguished pain. The doctor treated her for a bladder infection, but she began throwinng up the antibiotics, and continued to throw up. Throughout January she could eat less and less, and was more uncomfortable. She asked to go to the ER, a CT scan showed cancer on her liver. Eleven days later after tests, hospitalization, and transfer to Hospice, she passed.
my brother had liver transplant 3 years ago becauseof cirossis and hep b and c now he has liver cancer ,today doctor said they tried all the chemo on him and they can;t do anything more than that as the tumor is growing in liver and lungs too.is there any option we have ?
thanks
my mom died 1 and 1/2 years ago of liver cancer. she lived with it for 2 years after being diagnosed she had surgery and chemo and underwent traditional treatment. my dad now has liver cancer which matestasized from the colon. we are seeking the help of dr. stanislaw burzynski, an alternative doctor, and hope alternative medicine helps him more than traditional medicine helped my mom. she suffered a great deal and died. dr. burzynski promised the tumor would be gone in 4 months, but the treament costs a lot of money. we are hoping this isn’t a scheme that’s going to leave our dad penniless and disease ridden at this very vulnerable time. we hope we are not just wasting valuable time and money at dr. b’s. does anyone have any insight about this? has anyone been cured, treated, scammed, conned, or miraculously healed at dr. b’s???
I don’t know how much is true but some one very close to me was diagnosed with liver cancer spread to lung also..Doc said that if it has not spread to brain or other critical parts then liver cancer could be removed through surgery and ling thing could be removed using chemotherapy. Its a commercial hospital so do not know how much is true ..if its dangerous and still they want to treat for money..hoping that PET scan scheduled tomorrow does not result in cancer spreading to any other organ and he is treated with this itself..damn this disease which has no symptoms till later stage …docs should find some way to diagnose it at early stages and spread awareness about importance of regular medical tests
Hi!
My uncle has a liver cancer and doctor give the answer. Now he is at home and feeling tied and sleepy. At the beginning he had Hepatic C, than liver cancer. Recently he was treated with choreography but the results are worst. Yellowish type Water generate in to his belly and feel pain. Now the doctors stop the chemo tablets.
If any one have to know about the treatment possible, than kindly send me an email on s_naveed83@hotmail.com.
Regards,
NAVEED
Hello! I noticed most people weren’t getting feedback to their posts so I am not sure if anyone can help but I was wondering if anyone has found any particular diet or supplements to be helpful in maintaining liver function and possible even helping with chemo? My father was feeling a little tired for about 2 weeks, right abdominal pain for about 3 days which suddenly began extremely worse so he went to the hospital. Pain meds weren’t helping too much and by morning her was transferred to a bigger hospital and a liver biopsy was performed. Apparently there cancer came from the lung and was disgnosed as being small cell. During all this time he had jaundice but the pain seemed to have let up enough for him to be up walking around and skipping most of his pain meds during the day. He was released with a script and scheduled for chemo. I know it doesn’t look good for him and that the chemo will only extend his life by a yr at best but I was wondering if there is any advice you can give on the effects of chemo and possible things I can do to help him keep what is left od his liver healthy through all of this?
My brother diagnosed from liver cancer two weeks ago and the doctor who read the results give him 6 months to live. He had a lump in his liver bigger than a golf ball. He try to see another doctor and this doctor told him about the SORAFENIB(NEXAVAR) oral medicine. He said this medicine is a modern thing than chemotheraphy but very expensive medicine. My question is, how much you think my brother chances to survive if we try this oral medicine. By the way, my brother is in the Philippines right now. Please advise before we make any decision. Thank you very much.
My mother was just diagnosed with colon cancer with mets to the liver one month ago. She had colon surgery three weeks ago because of complications. We had our first appointment with the oncologist today, and it was devistating. 40% chance that the chemotherapy will work, and if it dosen’t work she could die in 18-24 months. I am a registered nures, and I am devistated by this news. If anyone has any adive let me know. Thank you!
Hi,
My father is having liver cancer. He is 60 yrs old. It was detected in last week. According to Dr it was there from last 4-5 months. Cancer tissues are from outside of liver. and they have started capturing blood vessels. So surgery is not possible at all. And accroding to Dr chaemo will not help him, becuase of his age he will suffer from unexpected other issues.
Does that mean we should leave everything on hope?
Please suggest us what to do? What will be survival time for him?
My Dad was just given a year to live w/ liver cancer. Inoperable, intransplantable. Empathize w/ everyone. Hope he
lasts for 5.
I am 33 with mestastic breast cancer, stage 4. Liver is 90% full of cancer, cancer on my lungs and multiple tumors on my spine (bone cancer). So far i have responded to chemo well. Was told i have 1 to 2 years to live. Can I get better? Is there a diet I should be doing to beat this?
Hi,
Well, my co-worker was diagnosed of liver cancer and she on the fourth stage. And i was wondering is there a possible way of survival. I cried so much when she came on her day off and told everyone that she is sick and had to quit because that was her only option left. She didn’t want to leave that early but somehow I guess it was too late for her. Not only that, my teacher from high school was also diagnosed of liver cancer as well. He had just retired from teaching in 2010 and I miss them so much. I just want to know what will be their survival time for them? Is it really painful for them to go through the step of treatment? Is there a way of saving them from going away? What one of my co-worker said was “the best things we could do was just to pray everynight for them…”
Please could anyone email my email at karwag1@hotmail.co.uk
My mum had bowel cancer and liver had the tumours removed but has now come back in liver a small tumour about an inch.
Has anyone had a second operation on the liver and it has not come back.
Please email me at my hotmail address
Best wishes Karen
my fiancee was diagnoised with HHC carcinaomia(liver cancer) primary on august 2, 2010. He is currently taking Nexavar 400 mg twice daily. The pain is unreal, his abdomen is swelling and he is so tired and nauseous. We were told he is advanced stages, won’t last till christmas. he has lost alot of weight. The medicine was given in hopes of shrinking the tumors the success rate for this is very low. The tumors are the size of tennis balls down to golf ball size. He is 52 and has had hep c for 35 years. Has anyone had sucess with shrinkage on this medication?
My aunt was dx with liver cancer. And the doctor said it already spreads through out most of liver and some part of bones. Everyone wants to know long they can live? Please let me know as well. She is now feeling down a lot because she is very weak now. The question is if she should get the treatment because every time she was very sick. If there will be less time to live, she should consider stay without the treatment and enjoy some good days than bad days for most of the time. Thank you for your opinion. Sincerely, Tang.
My father was diagnosed with heptacellular carcinoma in April. An operation was scheduled to remove his gall bladder and the mass…only to find out that this mass was 2 tumors the size of grapefruits on the right lobe of his liver and cirrhosis of the left lobe (this coming from a nondrinker). He received a fairly new procedure called chemoembolization (a cathether tube is in inserted in groin and inserted through artery to where the liver tumor is and plastic beads are injected through the catheter. The beads (soaked in the chemo) have a twofold purpose: 1) to stop the blood flow to the tumor and 2) to attack the tumor with the drug. It was successful in that my father’s tumors started to shrink; however, he had many setbacks due to the dead tissue that remained in his body and the inability (due to his weakened health) to put a drain in right away. Due to his weakened immune system and body, the only treatment that he has left is the embolization (without chemo) to at least stop the growth of any additional tumors. This procedure will continue for the next 6 months as he continues to recover and gets stronger.
My father has been recently diagnosed with stage 3 liver cancer. I am interested in hearing about any alternative therapies, such as Dr. Burzynski’s clinic in Texas or the cancer clinic in Tijuana, Mexico. Has anyone had success with these alternative therapies?
My dad was diagnosed Nov 14 2008 at the age of 56 with primary liver cancer and cirrhosis. He was told he had 2 years to live. He was diagnosed with Hep B in the 80′s. Within a month he started having episodes of hepatic encephalopathy. Every time he would have an episode his health would decline. He also had ascites. A month later he went for his appt. and was told he had 6 months to live. My dad died April 19th 2009. Not really alot of pain in the end just a gradual decline. Only advice I can give is to take advantage of the time you have with your love one Liver cancer is so unpredictable.
Jan 2002 – Br Ca, lumpectomy, chemo and radiation
Jan 2003 – Ovaries removed with cysts
Jan 2004 – AML Leukemia, dx not chemo induced – cured
Apr 2007 – Br Ca Metz left hip
Spread thru spine, hips and pelvis
Apr 2008 – Liver Tumors up to 16, could not blast
Continuous spread in bones, spots on skull not in brain
Chemo and radiation throughout 2007-2010
Options? Survival Time?
my uncle has liver cancer and it is diagnosed to be in second stage yesterday. he is aged 55.What is his survival duration.what treatment should be done …..
i just found out my father has liver cancer his is 47 and there saying they found it to late is there a way for him to survive longer with treatment and what kind of treatment thanks for your time.
After reading all of these posts, I want to tell you how sorry I am for all of you and I will be praying for you. My friend just found out she has stage iv colon cancer that has metastisized to her liver. I pray all of you and your loved ones get the treatment to live healthier and longer. May God bless each and everyone of you.
My friend has a 12 cm malignant tumor on his liver complicated by hepatitis B. He is 67, in overall good health. He is scheduled for surgery by a top specialist Dec.1 st. What are his chances of survival?
Can you remove my name from the post? Just use Carol
We do know God is on our side and it is He who will get us all thru this, but also know we must submit to His perfect will, Gods word says “I will bless them who bless you”. This website, while scary is also a blessing and I know God is blessing each of you. May you find strength and encouragement in His perfect will. Blessings!
My brother in law has prostate cancer and has had a tumour successfully removed from his bowel. He has now been diagnosed with liver cancer and has been told he only has 20% liver function. He has started on chemo. The doctor has told him that if they can reduce the cancer they can operate to remove the rest. Can anyone tell me what % of the liver you can survive with if they can successfully remove the cancer. I know that the liver can regenerate but how much do you have to have left for it to do so.
My sister was diagnosed w/colon cancer Nov 2010 & went through chemo & last wk was told that it spread to her bones & lungs. Dr’s said there’s nothing they can do! Does anyone know any alternative treatments? She’s only 55yrs old. Please let us about any alternative treatments! Thank you & God Bless you all!
My husbands family has been cursed with not only his Father but now his Mother, too! Last November, from no where we were told that my dear sweet father in law had a brain tumor! He had seen his Dr. who was treating him for an ear infection, in beginning of October, well at the end of that month only a couple of weeks later, he had a spell, we all really thought it was a heart attack or mini stroke, due to the stress he was incurring with the symptoms that appeared literly overnight! Ear aches, dizzieness, memory loss! He seemed to have suffered a mini stroke?! Symptoms were chest pain, loss of control in his left arm and winded-he was taken to a local hospital, where we waited for hours for some type of diagnoses, when they finally admitted him, we were told the next day that he had a brain tumor and would possibly be gone in a matter of days/possibly hours! We had him moved to a wonderfully accredited high tech advanced hospital that dealt with cancer/specializing in this sort of cancer and they did the tests,biopsies, and Father in law showed improvement, we were all relieved to have him home just after Thanksgiving doing okay, still unsure of prognosis, but it sparked hope for us all! He unfortunately was only home for a short time when we noticed some infection in the biopsie wound, he was admitted within that week, and really never recovered from that point on, he couldnt receive treatments until infection was dealt with and nothing seemed to work, he had contract a mrsa type infection from the hosp. and at long last after several weeks he finally go the green light for treatment, well he only had one, We lost him on his birthday, in January! We have still not recovered from this horrible loss and we have now been dealing with mother in law, who was diagnosed with liver cancer only a month after losing her husband! It has been a year from hell, she has had surgery, treatments and now been told it will be no longer then 6 months! This has been the hardest year and a half our family has ever (and hopefully will ever) had to deal with! My husband and his brothers will have lost both parents to freakish cancers from no where, within 2 years or so! My children are devastated, and honestly so am I! I am angry, and I want to do something, anything to help stop this! We have been everywhere and to no avail we are told there is nothing that can be done! My question is; First, what is the likelihood of being able to fight liver cancer!?
she had resection in May 2010, and treatment both chemo and radiation as well as homepathic/natural med. She feels wonderful, looks wonderful but has been giving a death sentence of 6 months to live? This boggles my mind, we are investigating a “new” treatment, however, because she thought all was still showing no signs, she decided to go to her dr. alone when he told her this news, and we will not know exactly what it is until tomorrow, she doesnt hear well, and is not sure exactly what he told her!!! Besides this she waited until late Sat. night to call her children to give them the news, (she had seen the Dr. on thursday!) Honestly, I think she kind of wants to die, she is lonely and didnt have a lot of time to grieve the loss of her husband before becoming sick, so she is depressed to an extent, you would never know it to see her, she is a picture of health and vitality, Really! which makes all of this harder to swallow, at any rate she will be going to hear about this “new” treatment on Tuesday, and she will decide whether or not to take it, but with everything we are told, and that we reasearch, it states the maxium is five years survival with this disease, has anyone ever fought and won beyond this? Her cancer is isolated to the liver, they removed it, it has reappeared as 5 small but active after 2 months, tumors, they can not surgically remove it this time and she is not a candidate for a transplant, her Drs. have told her she should live and enjoy life, that she needs to consider her feeling well and weigh the options for a treatment that may make her sick and not work anyway!? and I quote “Would you rather live 6 months feeling like you do, or 6 months possibly in pain and sick?” This just makes me mad!
Next, due to the crazy fact that no one in his family has ever had cancer let alone died from it, and neither of his parents smoked or were exposed (that we know of) to any toxins, and they were/are both a picture incredible health prior to all of this, What is the risk for my husband and his brothers? and our children for that matter? How do we go about testing and pre care for them? What do we ask our doctors for? since we have been givin no indications of where either of them could have gotten this?! basically, we were told with dear father in law, that sometimes its just a fluke, and now with dear mother in law, basically the same thing!? WTH?!! I can’t help but think that its possibly environmental, they recently (within the past 3 years) built a new house, (which happens to be a lot from ours-which we thought of as a god send), there are no power lines close, they have well water , which has been tested for everything (which comes back as “great, you should bottle and sell it”)we live in the middle of nowhere usa, and have simple natural eating habits, we grow our own food, limit our fat intakes, exercise, and are basically healthy people who live in what seems to be a healthy environment? But, due to the sudden on set, with no explantions, I can’t help but think we are missing something? Any suggestions out there? Sorry for the length of this post, I guess I needed to vent alittle, and I am scared, and confused! Please, any information and or advice is more then welcome! God Bless all of you here who have posted, my prayers are with you all and your families, may you all have good outcomes and live painlessly, I wish I could take it away for you!
I came across this side by chance, looking for more information to help my brother , he is 57, he was on medication for Epilepsy since he was a child.. he was not drinking not smoking eating healthy, sudden last year he got a pain on his left side, when we took him to the hospital, they did test and a scan..and saw that he had cancer in his colon, they did an operation in January 2010, he recovered from the op. but the next check up scan, they found he has cancer in his liver, he is doing chemo therapy every 6 weeks, he is tired, but he looks well and has no pain. I would like to know how long he has?? What can we do to help him? I would like to know if anyone has heard of PDT treatment killing cancer??
My sister inlaw found out that she has spots on her liver, and pancerous and spleen …. doc told her they cant operate and said they will give her chemo to try and slow the rapid spread…. from what i read the time limit is short… some shorter than others… I ask who ever reads this please pray for her…. that chemo will shrink and kill the cancer, as i just read yesterday that is what chemo does… i need a lot of hope…. the family is in shock and heart broken! does any one know of anything that can help the liver?????? is their any other ways of dealing with with this monster “CANCER”
My aunt was diagnosed with breast cancer about 5 years ago and she got rid of it and took chemo. Now they say the cancer spread to her liver.how much time do you think she has? Tell me the cold hard truth please.
6- 12 month
if your aunt take chemo or transplant, she will have longer time 3 5 year.
my mother(63years old) has been having this abdominal pains ever since 2yrs ago and has been on altosec (they suspected oversecretion of gastric juices). About 2 weeks ago, she started complaining of severe abdominal pains. An ultrasound was done, to find she has cancer of the liver. They have done liver biopsy n we now waiting for results, to confirm the diagnosis. What a long wait! I pray that the results suggest something else
My fiance is 32yrs and is in the US whiles i’m based in Africa-Ghana. He was dx of liver cancer 1st april and i was shocked cuz he doesnt drink bt i remembered he has a family history of cancer. With all d posts that i’v read, it seems he is so young 4 that. I dont know the stage nor the treatment but he’s been hospitalised and i lent he’s bleeding. What is his chances of survival. Please tell me something to calm me down. My heart is breaking and please do pray for him if u read this.