Gallbladder cancer (CA Gallbladder) is an abnormal growth of cells which starts in a person’s gallbladder. The gallbladder is a small and a organ which is pear shaped on right side of the abdomen, just below the liver. The gallbladder is one which stores the bile which is a digestive fluid formed by liver.
This type of cancer is uncommon. When this disease is discovered at in its early stage, the chances for the cure are very high. But, it is very unfortunate that most gallbladder cancer diseases are found out when it is in advance stage and this results in poor prognosis.
The reason why Gallbladder cancers are not discovered until they are advanced is that they often show no specific signs or any type of symptoms. One of the reason is relatively hidden type of nature of a person’s gallbladder and this truly makes difficult to find out about this disease when in early stage.
In this article, we will learn about the symptoms, diagnoses, stages and treatment of gallbladder cancer.
Symptoms of Gallbladder Cancer;
Though this type of cancer is very difficult to detect in it early stage as it doesn’t show any type of signs of symptoms, Regular comprehensive health checks may help in getting the early information on presence of this type of disease in the body.
Some of the signs &symptoms may include the following:
- Pain in the abdomen, in the upper right area
- Bloating
- Unintentional loss of weight
- Yellow color of the skin and whiteness of the eyes
Diagnosis of Gallbladder Cancer;
Tests &procedures which are used to diagnose the gallbladder cancer include the following:
- Blood Investigation; The doctor may request for some blood tests which may help in finding out the real problem in the body.
- Imaging tests; Your Doctor may also request for a Ultrasound, CT, MRI in order to assess the status of the gallbladder.
Once the doctor has diagnosed that it’s a gallbladder cancer, he or she will work to find out the extent (stage) of the cancer. The stage of the disease will help determine the prognosis and the most suitable treatment options to get best possible outcome.
Tests &Procedures Done To Stage CA Gallbladder Include:
- Exploratory surgery; Your specialist can recommend a procedure to look inside the abdomen to check the spread of the gallbladder cancer.
In this particular procedure called a laparoscopy, A Surgeon generally makes a small incision in the abdomen and inserts a small camera. This camera helps the surgeon to see and examine organs which are surrounding gallbladder to know about the spread of the disease.
- Bile ducts examination; Your Treating Doctor may recommend procedures to put some dye in the bile ducts and this followed by imaging investigation that records where the route and flow of the dye.
This test may reveal the blockages in your bile ducts
- Additional imaging tests; Doctors may request for a number of scans in order to know the exact location, spread and the nature of the disease. Some of the common scan prescribed by doctors are USG, MRI or a CT scan. These tests are very important as they help in treatment planning for better treatment outcome.
Stages of Gallbladder Cancer;
Your attending doctor uses vital information from the procedures mentioned above to stage your disease. The stages of CA gallbladder disease range from 0 to IV.
The early stage shows that the cancer is limited to gallbladder area and has not spread to nearby organs in the body, however the later stages indicate that the disease is more-advanced which has grown to involve nearby organs or spread to distant organs in the body.
Staging is vital aspect for better treatment planning to achieve good outcomes of the treatment planned.
Treatment of Gallbladder Cancer:
Treatment of gallbladder stones depends on several factors including the patient’s age, overall health and their preferences. The Treatment options for gallbladder cancer include the following:
- Surgery
- Chemotherapy
- Radiation Therapy
- Targeted Therapy
- Immunotherapy
