1. A thunderbolt from the blue: A simple shoulder pain made me stop at the age of 47
"My name is Zhang Hua, 47 years old, the pillar of a family, and a winning general on the sales battlefield. Working as a sales manager in a medium-sized company. ”
However, life is always full of surprises. The long-term shoulder pain made Zhang Hua mistakenly believe that it was caused by work pressure, until the recent physical examination report ruthlessly revealed the truth - advanced liver cancer. This news was like a bolt from the blue, which made Zhang Hua unbelievable.
The shoulder pain that Zhang Hua ignored was actually a distress signal from the body to Zhang Hua. Being so preoccupied with work that we turn a blind eye to these subtle warnings.
Coincidentally, Wang Pengfei, who was thirty years old, also encountered the same confusion.
Second, a small shadow has completely turned my life upside down
"My name is Wang Pengfei, 47 years old, and I have a loving home and an enviable career. I always thought that my body was as strong as iron, and even though I started to have shoulder pain from time to time last month, I always confidently thought that it was just a minor problem, and even when it came to the recommendation for a medical check-up, I laughed it off and always felt that I didn't need it. ”
However, as time passed, fatigue and fatigue became Pengfei's daily companions, and the loss of appetite and abdominal pain became uninvited guests. Under the persistent persuasion of his family, Pengfei finally relented and decided to go for a medical examination to calm their worried hearts.
"There's a shadow on the liver, let's go and have it checked out. The doctor's words were simple, but they were like a bolt from the blue, making his world lose color in an instant. When the prominent word "liver cancer" appeared on the diagnosis, Pengfei felt unprecedented panic and despair.
3. Why is ordinary shoulder pain a precursor to liver cancer?
Shoulder pain is often thought to be due to common causes such as frozen shoulder, muscle strain, or cervical spondylosis, but sometimes, shoulder pain can also be an atypical symptom of liver cancer.
Location of liver cancer pain: If liver cancer occurs in the right lobe of the liver, especially near the top of the diaphragm, as the tumor grows, it may irritate or compress surrounding nerves and tissues, including the diaphragm. This compression can cause pain to radiate along the nerve path to the right shoulder, causing what is known as radiating pain.
Sensation of pain: The liver has nerve connections to the shoulder, and liver cancer may cause referred pain through these nerve pathways, resulting in shoulder pain.
A 50-year-old male patient was admitted to the hospital with pain in the right shoulder joint for half a year and aggravated for one month, and was initially diagnosed with right frozen shoulder, but the pain was not relieved after repeated treatment, and it was finally found to be primary liver cancer. Shoulder pain caused by liver cancer is usually not accompanied by limitation of shoulder movement, while shoulder conditions such as frozen shoulder can cause limited shoulder movement. In addition, shoulder pain caused by liver cancer may not be relieved by rest or conventional pain treatments.
4. How to protect liver health in daily life?
Regular check-ups are an important means of preventing liver cancer, and maintaining a healthy lifestyle, such as avoiding excessive alcohol consumption, eating a healthy diet and exercising moderately, can also be effective in preventing liver cancer.
1. Regular physical examination: Regular liver function tests, hepatitis B and hepatitis C virus marker tests, and abdominal ultrasound examinations can detect liver problems in time. Liver function tests detect liver enzyme levels, and if abnormally elevated, it may indicate liver damage.
2. Avoid excessive alcohol consumption: Excessive alcohol consumption can lead to alcoholic liver disease, a liver disease caused by long-term alcohol abuse. Alcohol is metabolized in the liver, and excess alcohol can lead to liver cell damage and death, which in turn can lead to liver fibrosis and cirrhosis. Cirrhosis is a risk factor for liver cancer, so avoiding excessive alcohol consumption can reduce the risk of liver cancer.
3. Eat a healthy diet: Eat more vegetables, fruits, and whole grains such as spinach, carrots, apples, oats, etc., which are rich in vitamins, minerals, and dietary fiber, which can help detoxify and repair the liver. At the same time, reducing the intake of high-fat, high-sugar and processed foods can reduce the burden on the liver and reduce the risk of liver disease.
In addition, moderate exercise can improve the liver's metabolic capacity and help the liver remove toxins and waste products. Common forms of exercise include brisk walking, jogging, swimming, etc., and at least 150 minutes of aerobic exercise per week.
5. Vigilance: What are the symptoms of early liver cancer?
Early-stage liver cancer is often not easy to detect because its symptoms are often subtle and can easily be mistaken for other, more common digestive problems. However, understanding these early signals is essential for timely diagnosis and treatment. Here are some possible early liver cancer symptoms:
1. Discomfort or pain in the upper abdomen: Early liver cancer may manifest as a dull pain or swelling pain in the right upper abdomen, which is usually due to the growth of liver tumors that stretch the liver capsule.
2. Gastrointestinal symptoms: including loss of appetite, indigestion, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. These symptoms may be related to impaired liver function, as the liver plays a key role in the digestive process.
3. Unexpected weight loss: Patients may experience unexplained weight loss, which may be due to tumor metabolites affecting the body's metabolism or decreased appetite.
4. Yellowing of the skin: Some patients may have dull skin, dark skin, or spider angiomas, which may be related to abnormal liver function. Although jaundice is more common in advanced liver cancer, it can also occur in some early-stage patients and manifests as yellowing of the eyes and skin, which may be due to liver cell damage or compression of the bile ducts.
For people with a history of hepatitis, alcoholism, liver cancer in their families, or other high-risk factors for liver cancer, regular physical examinations, including liver ultrasound and alpha-fetoprotein screening, should be performed to detect liver cancer as soon as possible. If the above symptoms appear, a detailed examination should be carried out promptly.
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