How much drinking does it take to get liver cancer?

Question

I've been drinking for 3+ years, at an average of at least 1/2 bottle of Vodka per day. I drink this much on normal weekdays and still go to work in a perky mood... on weekends I drink at least one full 1L bottle per day, including Sundays. I've been doing this for some time already. On labor day of 2007 I found myself drinking 3 full bottles of 1.75ML of Vodka and realized that 3X1.75L = 7 regular (750ml) bottles of liquor). I still woke up fine the next work day. Now, after several years I am finally feeling the soar... strong abdominal pains, lack of sleep, pain in the liver, kidneys, stomach, and chest due to the 2 packs of smokes a day diet. Can't sleep on my front because my abdomen area hurts. What are the symptoms of liver cancer or cirrhosis that can apply to me? If any...?

Answer 1

Are you TRYING to kill yourself or did you just not think this one through?

Doctor. Now.

Answer 2

Well unlimited cause drinking doesn't cause liver cancer. Excessive drinking causes cirrhosis of the liver, where living liver cells are replaced with what is essentially dead scar tissue. Over time this leads to failure of the liver. Of course how long this takes depends on many factors:

1) Amount of alcohol consumed
2) How often mass amounts are consumed
3) Your body and how well it deal with it.

The are some people who drink everyday and it take 30 years for cirrhosis to set in others it takes 10.

I have included a link below that lists a lot of the signs and symptons. No reason to re-type them all when someone already has.

Answer 3

I guarantee that you're drinking is WAY over the amount required for cellular damage. For your typical European male it's about three ounces of pure alcohol (diluted in your favorite beverage) daily. Above that you have many, many problems, although cirrhosis is the most common. Look into methods for cutting down.

Definitely see a doctor. The abdominal pains may or may not be an indicator of something caused by the alcohol, but it's definitely something that a doctor should look at. You might have appendicitis or peritonitis, for instance. Going will cost you your deductible. Not going might kill you.

For a better overview of all of the problems that heavy alcohol drinking can cause, you can check out this page:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcohol_consumption_and_health

Answer 4

Drinking doesn't cause liver cancer. However, it does directly cause liver Cirrhosis which leads to liver failure which leads to hepato-renal failure and then you're toast.

The abdominal pain could be anything. Alkies are very susceptible to gall stones. I know this. My father was an alcoholic and died of liver failure.

If you start getting ascites (lots of fluid build up in your abdomen... looks like a pregnancy-shaped beer belly), piss less often, and lose weight and muscle mass, get your *** to hepatolgist. Eventually you'll look like a balloon with toothpicks coming out of it as your abdomen is swollen but the rest of your body wastes away.

If you've got moderate to severe alcoholic cirrhosis, your options are essentially:

1) quit drinking, get as healthy as you can, and plan on getting on a transplant list
2) let it be and look forward to slow, wasting death from hepato-renal failure (yes... when the liver goes, it takes out the kidneys, too)
3) get your affairs in order and drink more to speed it all up

Answer 5

xaznjazonx - You are correct that alcohol can cause liver cancer. Although nobody is exactly sure what causes primary liver cancer, it does tend to arise in those people whose liver has been severely damaged by a condition called cirrhosis (scarring of the liver). Any disease that causes cirrhosis of the liver will increase the risk of you developing liver cancer. Cirrhosis of the liver can be caused by infection with the hepatitis B or C virus and drinking excess alcohol. However, only a small minority of people with cirrhosis of the liver will go on to develop primary liver cancer. Primary liver cancer tends to affect the middle aged and elderly, but very rarely it can affect children. It is also a lot more common in men than it is in women. Cirrhosis caused by chronic alcohol consumption is the most common association of liver cancer in the developed world. Actually, we now understand that many of these cases are also infected with chronic hepatitis C virus. The usual setting is an individual with alcoholic cirrhosis who has stopped drinking for ten years, and then develops liver cancer. It is somewhat unusual for an actively drinking alcoholic to develop liver cancer. What happens is that when the drinking is stopped, the liver cells try to heal by regenerating (reproducing). It is during this active regeneration that a cancer-producing genetic change (mutation) can occur, which explains the occurrence of liver cancer after the drinking has been stopped. Patients who are actively drinking are more likely to die from non-cancer related complications of alcoholic liver disease (for example, liver failure). Indeed, patients with alcoholic cirrhosis who die of liver cancer are about 10 years older than patients who die of non-cancer causes. Finally, as noted above, alcohol adds to the risk of developing liver cancer in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus or hepatitis B virus infections.

Answer 6

As far as I know, drinking doesn't cause liver CANCER but it causes all sorts of other liver problems. Most of the time there are NO symptoms -- your liver has to be almost totally GONE before you feel anything.

You seriously need serious help. God only knows what's going on inside you but obviously your BRAIN isn't working since you seem to think that drinking that much and smoking too is OK.

Please see a doctor ASAP. Good luck -- you need it.

Answer 7

Do you have medical insurance? Can you go to a rehab facility for a month or so? I think that's the only way to kick this. You are in some serious trouble, my friend, and it's not going to get any better unless you do a serious intervention.

Answer 8

You can experience all types of symptoms, but I would suggest seeing a doctor. Good luck

Answer 9

You have a lot going on, you should talk to a Dr or couselor right away. I wish you the best.

Answer 10

I usually takes years but by consuming massive amounts can bring it on early. See your dr.