Anyone with Hepatocellular Carcinoma (Liver Cancer) want to share?

I have been experiencing some weight loss, about 10 lbs, worst thing is the diharea, and it appears to have affected my thyroid gland, causing lack of energy and appetite loss. My tongue and mouth have become extremely sensitive to spicy foods and soda. Just looking for some support, I am not a person to give up, looking for answers, please help if you can

@bobhuddleston Have you reported these changes to your doctor? They may, or may not, be reactions to the drugs you are taking. The diarrhea and wait loss are concerning. What does your doctor say? What does he/she suggest you do?

Tina, am sorry to hear about your Dad. My Father passed away from liver cancer over 20 years ago, so this is touches my heart. In addition, my daughter was very sick over the holiday with dark urine, weak, cough, low grade fever. She went to emergency room and they ran bloodwork and urine test. She had low potassium level and magnesium. However, her liver profile was abnormal as well. Her AST was 178 and ALT was 78, Albumin low 3.3 Anion Gap high at 12 . Alkaline Phos. high at 284 Billirubin was normal. Urine showed Urobilinogen high at 1. She was given magnesium and potassium intravenously but sent home because she does not have insurance. She was not told to follow up with a doctor. I am concerned that she has liver disease..... She is 36. Is there still an online "ask a nurse/dr for mayo clinic? Should I follow up on her labs and be concerned. Aren't these abnormal?

@phylliserin Welcome to Connect. I am really sorry to hear about your daughter. The AST and ALT results do sound high.

If a number of things were out of range I think it would be cause for concern. Is she at risk for liver problems? This link from Mayo tells causes and symptoms. I had liver disease -- cirrhosis. Mine was caused by fatty liver. Most people with fatty liver are overweight, which I was, but some people are not, it's just their diet that causes it. Other causes are mentioned in the Mayo article.
I didn't think a hospital could send a sick person home for lack of insurance. Does she have Medicaid? It does sound as if she should have some medical attention. I thought pretty much everyone was insured these days through ACA if they had no insurance other than that. I hope you are able to get her the attention she needs, I will definitely be interested in hearing what the doctor says.
JK

Hi @phylliserin, If your daughter is a patient of Mayo Clinic, she can submit questions about her labs online through the patient portal, called Patient Online Services https://onlineservices.mayoclinic.org/content/staticpatient/showpage/patientonline

Mayo Clinic also has a Symptom Checker that you might find helpful: https://www.mayoclinic.org/symptom-checker/select-symptom/itt-20009075
Here is more information about Liver Function Tests and normal ranges for comparison https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/liver-function-tests/about/pac-20394595

It would seem that your instincts are correct and that she should book a follow-up with a doctor or specialist. Is there a university or teaching hospital that your daughter could go to?

thank you so much for your reply, Colleen. I will follow up on the symptom checker and the normal ranges. There is a university, but I am not sure what they can do for her. We are currently looking into some indigent clinics. Again, thank you for the reply.

Thank you, JK. She is at risk because she has a bad diet and of alcoholism. She is not terribly overweight however. I think they just sent her home assuming that her labs for potassium and magnesium were all that were of concern. I think that it was oversight and that they did not consider the liver profile as a factor or did not want to because of the lack of insurance. It is sad but true.

@phylliserin I went almost a year and a half before my cirrhosis was diagnosed despite having HE *hepatic encephalopathy) episodes, decreasing platelet counts, shaking hands, and other symptoms but I was never jaundiced and my AST and ALT levels were not hugely out of range, just slightly.
Before cirrhosis occurs there are other stages of liver problems that are reversible. Hopefully if she does have liver problems, and with those AST and ALT results it sounds as if she might, she will get diagnosed and on track to regain her health. I am still not understanding that she can be turned away for lack of money. I know that can be true for transplants, they are so costly as are the drugs afterward, but to get diagnosed? That just doesn't seem right, particularly since if she gets a diagnosis she could possibly be treated before things get worse. Medicaid will not pay?
JK

Tengo hepatocarcinoma alguien me puede ayudar

Bienvenido, @mrodriguezc
Estoy usando el traductor de Google, por lo que es posible que la traducción al español no sea completamente precisa.

¿Cuándo le diagnosticaron cáncer de hígado? ¿Qué tratamientos estás recibiendo?