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Supportive Care
Liver cancer and its treatment can lead to other
health problems. You can have supportive care before,
during, and after cancer treatment.
Supportive care is treatment to control pain and
other symptoms, to relieve the side effects of therapy,
and to help you cope with the feelings that a diagnosis
of cancer can bring. You may receive supportive care
to prevent or control these problems and to improve
your comfort and quality of life during treatment.
You can get information about supportive care
at http://www.cancer.gov/cancerinfo/coping on the
NCI Web site and from the NCI Cancer Information Service at
1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-6237) or LiveHelp
(http://www.cancer.gov/help).
Liver cancer and its treatment may lead to pain.
Your doctor or a specialist in pain control can suggest
several ways to relieve or reduce pain:
- Pain medicine: Medicines often can relieve pain.
(These medicines may make people drowsy and
constipated, but resting and taking laxatives can
help.)
- Radiation therapy: Radiation therapy can help
relieve pain by shrinking the cancer.
- Nerve block: The doctor may inject alcohol into the
area around certain nerves in the abdomen to block
the pain.
The health care team may suggest other ways to
relieve or reduce pain. For example, massage,
acupuncture, or
acupressure may be used along with
other approaches. Also, you may learn to relieve pain
through relaxation techniques such as listening to slow
music or breathing slowly and comfortably.
More information about pain control can be found in
the NCI booklet Pain Control.
It's normal to feel sad, anxious, or confused after a
diagnosis of a serious illness. Some people find it
helpful to talk about their feelings. See the Sources of
Support section.
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