In a post on social media, the 38-year-old said her tumour has become stage 2 cancer (Pic: Instagram/iStock)
Popular television actress Dipika Kakkar, after being detected with a tennis ball-sized tumour in her liver, has now been diagnosed with liver cancer. In a post on social media, the 38-year-old said her tumour has become stage 2 cancer.
“As you all are aware, the last few weeks have been quite difficult for us,” Dipika wrote on Instagram. “Walking into the hospital for a pain in the upper area of my stomach... and then finding out it’s a tennis ball-sized tumour in the liver, and then finding out that the tumour is second-stage malignant (cancerous), it has been one of the most difficult times we have seen and experienced,” she wrote in the post.
Dipika's husband and co-actor Shoaib Ibrahim had earlier informed that doctors initially considered surgery to remove the tumour - scheduled for the following week, but after the recent PET scan reports, the decision was made to hold off on the procedure.
What is liver cancer?
Liver cancer is a life-threatening malignant tumour in your liver, the largest organ in your body. Doctors say it is also one of the most important organs, as no one can live without their liver. There are three types of primary liver cancer:
Hepatocellular carcinoma
It is the most common form of liver cancer.
Intrahepatic cancer
It is the bile duct cancer in your liver, which represents about 10-20 per cent of all primary liver cancer cases.
Hepatic angiosarcoma
It is a rare type of cancer that represents about 1 per cent of all primary liver cancer cases that begins in the lining of blood cells in your liver.
Early warning signs and symptoms of liver cancer
There are a few very early warning signs of liver cancer, without any symptoms, which include:
- Dark-colored pee or grey or pale poop
- Unexplained bruising
-
Extreme tiredness and fatigue
- High fever
- Hard bump or lump on the right side of your body just below your rib cage
- Itchy skin
- Loss of appetite which leads to unexplained weight loss
- Nausea or vomiting
- Pain in the upper abdomen
- Swelling and inflammation in your stomach
- Yellowing of your skin and the whites of your eyes from jaundice
What causes liver cancer?
According to doctors, liver cancer usually happens when something affects healthy liver cells’ DNA, which carries the genes that tell our cells how to function. Everyone has genes that tell cells when to grow, multiply, and die. However, when cancer happens, even healthy ones begin to die. When our DNA mutates, or changes, our cells get new instructions. Certain medical conditions and other issues can affect your liver’s DNA and increase your risk of developing liver cancer.
The most common risk factor for liver cancer is long-term hepatitis B or hepatitis C infections, which cause cirrhosis. Cirrhosis leads to liver cancer and other activities or conditions that increase your risk of liver cancer, like:
- Heavy drinking of beverages containing alcohol
-
Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease
- Obesity and being overweight
- Type 2 diabetes
- Use of tobacco and heavy smoking
