Stage 4 liver cancers are very serious. If a person is diagnosed with liver cancer, they should be aware that the liver is the most common organ, when stricken with cancer, to metastasize in other areas and through the bloodstream. The general prognosis for the survival of a person with liver cancer is currently from a few months to a year. In stage 4 liver cancers the prognosis is very short. Liver cancer causes severe pain and loss of weight. It is also the cause of yellowing skin and the yellowing of the sclera of the eyes. In stage 4 liver cancers the tumors grow into other organs as well as other areas of the body. There can be an unlimited number of these tumors and they can measure all sizes. The lymph nodes might or might not be affected.
The treatment for stage 4 liver cancers is sometimes treatable. However, only around 30% of those with liver cancer have tumors that surgery can remove. These persons are generally a stage 1.
Surgery can only help that small percentage because often times, the liver cancer has spread to other parts of the body which would require several tumor removals that the person may not be stable enough to withstand. Another reason is that the cancer has engulfed such a large part of the liver that, if it was to be removed, the person would not be able to function. Also, it is not possible for surgical interventions to remove tumors that are close to main arteries, the bile ducts that are needed, or the major veins. Unfortunately these persons must suffer through the cancer. Most choose to do what they can to prolong life so that they may get their estate in order. This will include chemotherapy, radiation, Chemoradiation, and possible surgical interventions.
The overall rate of persons who survive liver cancer after 5 years is slim, being less than a 10% chance. The main reason for the survival rates being so slim is the fact that most of the persons with the cancer also develop other problems due to the cancer.