why does a person stomach swells when they have cancer?

Question

i know someone who has liver cancer and now it spreading to their lungs,i just want to know why does the person stomach swells?

Answer 1

Swelling can be caused by fluid in the abdomen called ascites. The growing tumors will 'seed' and send out microscopic cells that implant into the lining of the body. This can cause irritation that creates the fluid that is trying to eliminate the irritants.

Another unfortunate reason may be that the tumors that have spread are progressing. Which means that they are growing larger inside the body and are now visible. Sometimes it looks like a person is pregnant or gaining rapid weight as the belly will become bloated with multiple tumors. It's also possible to have ascites at the same time the tumors are growing which can cause even more swelling.

Hope your friends doctors can get the swelling under control and it is just ascites.

Answer 2

Since you mentioned both the liver and the cancer...either
one could cause a build up of fluid in the abdominal area.
This fluid is known as " Ascites."
http://www.healthatoz.com/healthatoz/Atoz/common/standard/transform.jsp?requestURI=/healthatoz/Atoz/ency/ascites.jsp

When the liver cells become damaged or they die, the
liver functions deteriates. One of these functions is to
make a protein, known as Albumin. This albumin is used
to transport many things throughout the body... it also is
a protein that keeps the fluid inside the vessels. When
this albumin is low, because the liver cannot make enough
of it because of injury, this fluid starts to seep out of the
cells and into the abdominal area.

If the fluid builds up to the point where the patient is
uncomfortable or has difficulty breathing, the doctors
can do a procedure to remove the fluid, but they have to
decide if it is to the patients benefit. They can remove it,
but it will start to build again. Any opening in the
skin can lead to bacteria entering and causing severe
infections. Both a liver patient and a cancer patient are
vulnerable to this. The procedure is known as paracentesis.

I hope this give you an idea why their belly enlarges.
There are many sites on the web that discuss "Ascites"...
I just posted one of them to start you out with.

Answer 3

there can be several reasons for this.

It could be the cancerous growth.

It could be a fluid build up.

It could be a side effeect of the drugs they are taking either for the cancer or for depression or for pain.

Every case is different, every cancer is different.

Answer 4

i have breast cancer and mine is swollen due to treatments