Aging and Disease

The largest organ in your body is your liver. It regulates your ability to metabolize fats, carbohydrates, and proteins. It is also involved in many other different functions throughout your body that will keep you alive. Many contaminants, as well as disease-causing elements will pass through the liver. This is the reason why there are so many different diseases that can affect this organ, and this is the reason why it is very important to keep it healthy.

Factors that can Damage the Liver

Some form of infection or a cancer will damage the liver, which can have the potential to affect your entire body. Due to the fact that the liver stores blood, and is connected to both the portal vein and the hepatic artery. This extra blood supply increases the chance that a tumor in a different organ that has spread into the blood stream will end up in the liver.

The problem with developing cancer in this organ is due to the fact that it is very difficult to detect the cancer in the liver at an early stage. This is because the liver’s ability to function normally for a prolonged period of time, even if it is damaged or infected. Therefore, the earliest time to detect liver cancer is when it is already well established in the organ.

Cancer Stages

There are four stages of liver cancer a person can potentially go through. During the first two stages, it is very difficult to detect the cancer in the liver. This is unfortunate due to the fact that it is during these two stages when the cancer is easy to cure. The third stage is when it is easier to detect the cancer. However, during this time it is very difficult to cure cancer that has advanced up to this point.

Tags: Cancer, Aging

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