If you have liver cancer, you might be told it’s at a certain stage. This describes how large the tumour is, and whether the cancer has spread to other parts of your body, and how far.
Knowing the stage of the cancer helps you and your doctors to decide on the best treatment for you.
The staging of liver cancer which is only in the liver is called the Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) System. This is done based on a few factors:
- How well you are
- How well your liver is working
- What the tumours are like, such as their size and number
If the cancer has spread beyond the liver to other parts of the body, it is known as metastatic cancer and the treatment is planned in a different way.
With all stages of liver cancer, there is plenty of treatment and support that can help you, including traditional medicine and practices like ceremony and being on Country.