Beware Of Empedu Cancer, Mild Symptoms That Can End Fatal

JAKARTA - Bile cancer is a type of cancer that is classified as rare but aggressive. This disease attacks the small bile bag organ that is under the liver and functions to store bile fluids that helps the digestive process.

Because the location is hidden and the symptoms are often not specific, bile cancer is often detected only when it reaches advanced stages. Therefore, it is important to recognize early signs and understand how to handle them.

In a media discussion in Jakarta, Prof. Dr. dr. Ikhwan Rinaldi, SpPD-KHOM, M.Epid, M.Pd.Ked, FACP, FINASIM, said that early detection is very crucial, because bile cancer often develops without realizing it.

"Having risk factors does not necessarily mean having cancer, but vigilance and periodic examinations are very important," said Prof. Ikhwan, as quoted by ANTARA.

He explained that early symptoms of bile cancer can include pain in the upper right abdomen, skin and yellowing eyes (continuous), dark urine, pale urine, nausea, weight loss for no reason, and itching on the skin.

In the early stages, pain can be felt, but it will appear along with the growth of tumors that suppress nerves around the organs.

If the tumor gets bigger and clogs the bilirubin channel, the bilirubin will accumulate in the blood, causing changes in skin and eye color to yellow and causing itching. This complement can also cause infection, fever, loss of appetite, and drastic weight loss due to disruption of fat absorption.

Many patients come with complaints of pain in the upper right abdomen. This pain arises due to pressure from tumors in the surrounding area, explained Prof. Ikhwan, a graduate of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Indonesia.

He emphasized that the early stages of bile cancer often did not show any distinctive symptoms, so many patients only realized after the disease developed further.

Regarding the handling of bile cancer, Prof. Ikhwan said that the process was very complex and required a multidisciplinary team (MDT) approach. This team consists of various medical personnel such as liver specialists, oncologists, surgeons, radiologs, patologists, to the equator's nurses, so that therapy can run thoroughly and coordinated.

"Every step of handling starts from diagnosis, surgical action, drug administration, to post-therapy monitoring" involving the medical team's cooperation from various disciplines, "he said.

To detect bile cancer, examinations such as ultrasound, CT scans, MRI, and liver function tests are very helpful in assessing conditions before cancer develops more severe.

He also added that currently the medical world has entered an innovative era in cancer treatment. The combination of immunotherapy and chemotherapy has begun to be used in Indonesia and shows promising results for advanced stage bile cancer patients.

The combination of immunotherapy with chemotherapy can strengthen the immune system as well as attack cancer cells directly. This is a new hope in extending the patient's life expectancy," concluded Prof. Ikhwan.