Table of contents:
- Various ways to prevent liver cancer
- 1. Avoid and treat hepatitis B and C infection
- 2. Stop smoking and drinking alcohol
- 3. Maintain ideal body weight
- 4. Perform early detection of liver cancer
- 5. Overcoming diseases that are risk factors for liver cancer
- Consult a doctor to determine health conditions
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), liver cancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. However, that does not mean that liver cancer cannot be avoided. There are several things that can be done as an effort to prevent liver cancer. Come on, see the full explanation in the following article.
Various ways to prevent liver cancer
You certainly want to always be healthy and free from various diseases. In addition to adopting a healthy lifestyle, you also need to do a number of things that can help prevent various diseases, including liver cancer. Some things you can do to prevent this disease are:
1. Avoid and treat hepatitis B and C infection
According to the American Cancer Society, one of the risk factors for liver cancer is chronic hepatitis B and C infection. This disease is transmitted from one person to another through the use of needles which are usually used for treatment.
However, you can also transmit this disease through unprotected sex and from mother to child.
One of the preventive efforts to prevent contracting this infection is to avoid sharing needles with other people or always using condoms or other protective equipment during sex.
Not only that, it is recommended for children to adults to inject the HBV vaccine (for hepatitis B) in order to reduce the risk of hepatitis as well as to prevent liver cancer. If you are one of the many people who are at risk for hepatitis B and C infection, it is better to do early detection for liver cancer.
If you already have this infection, immediately get treatment for prevention of liver cancer. Although drug use does not necessarily cure your hepatitis B infection, its use can reduce the risk of liver cirrhosis and liver cancer.
Meanwhile, to avoid hepatitis C infection, you can reduce the risk by knowing your partner's health condition, reducing the use of needles, and choosing a clean place if you want to do ear piercings.
2. Stop smoking and drinking alcohol
Did you know that smoking and consuming too much alcoholic beverages can increase risk factors for liver cancer? Therefore, if you are a smoker, immediately stop this bad habit as a prevention against liver cancer. Likewise if you frequently consume alcohol.
The problem is, consuming too much alcohol increases your risk of developing cirrhosis. In fact, cirrhosis is also a risk factor for liver cancer. By quitting smoking, you also prevent liver cancer and various types of cancer and other dangerous diseases.
3. Maintain ideal body weight
One of the risks of liver cancer is obesity. Therefore, what you can do to prevent liver cancer is to always maintain a healthy weight. This can be done by maintaining a diet and exercising regularly.
The reason is, excess body weight can also increase the risk of cirrhosis, another risk factor for liver cancer. If you want to lose weight, reduce the number of calories from your daily food intake. Then, also increase your time or intensity in exercising.
4. Perform early detection of liver cancer
One of the efforts to prevent liver cancer that is no less important is early detection. This is especially necessary if you have started to feel various symptoms of liver cancer.
However, people categorized as mandatory for detection of liver cancer are people who have liver cirrhosis, hepatitis B infection and hepatitis C. You can also just check with a doctor and discuss whether to do early detection.
If you are diagnosed with liver cancer, at least the next steps can be taken. For example, finding out the stages of liver cancer staging and liver cancer treatment methods that suit your health condition.
5. Overcoming diseases that are risk factors for liver cancer
There are several diseases that increase your chances of developing liver cancer. So, you should overcome these various diseases as an effort to prevent liver cancer.
One disease that is thought to increase the risk of liver cancer is diabetes. This is because diabetes affects blood circulation directly, so that the complications can attack various organs, including the liver.
In addition, the risk of liver cancer also increases if you have a hereditary disease that can lead to cirrhosis of the liver. Therefore, one of the efforts to prevent this disease is to undergo treatment for these various risks. That way, your risk of developing liver cancer also decreases.
Consult a doctor to determine health conditions
Before taking various precautions against liver cancer, it's a good idea to consult a doctor first. This is because you need to know your overall health condition to take the next step.
Consulting about health conditions can help you find out about your overall health condition. Given the different health conditions of each individual, prevention efforts that can be done may be different.
In addition, there is also a variety of information that you need to confirm the correctness related to liver cancer prevention efforts. One of them, a study published in the journal Science Report explains that aspirin can help lower your risk of developing liver cancer.
By confirming the information you get about things that can help prevent liver cancer to your doctor, at least you can choose the right steps and according to your health condition.
