What Patients Say About Cancer Treatment at New Hope
What Is Bile Duct Cancer? Understand Your Disease
Bile duct cancer, otherwise known as cholangiocarcinoma, is a rare and often fatal disease. It affects the small tubes (bile ducts) connecting your liver and small intestine. These tubes allow a fluid called “bile” to flow from the liver, through the pancreas, then to the stomach where it helps with digestion.
Jaundice occurs when bile cannot pass through the liver. This medical condition causes the yellowing of the skin or whites of the eyes. At dangerous levels, it can also cause brain damage.
Bile Duct Cancers We Treat at New Hope Unlimited
Based on the location of the disease, bile duct cancers are categorized into three types:
Intrahepatic bile duct cancers
These tumors grow in the smaller bile duct branches within the liver.
Perihilar bile duct cancers
These tumors develop outside the liver or at the hilum, where the left and right hepatic ducts join to drain bile from the liver.
Distal bile duct cancers
These tumors begin outside the liver. They appear further down the bile duct, closer to the small intestine.
Bile Duct Cancer Symptoms
Signs of bile duct cancer appear when the tumor grows large enough to block the bile ducts, causing:
- Jaundice
- An itchy sensation on the skin
- Pale stools and dark brown urine
- Persistent exhaustion
- Loss of appetite and weight loss
- Abdominal pain and swelling
- A dull ache in the upper right-hand side of the stomach
- Fever of 38C (100.4F) or above
- Chills and shivering
It is important to get your doctor’s accurate diagnosis since these symptoms can have several other causes.
Bile Duct Cancer Risk Factors
At this point, doctors and scientists do not know the exact cause of bile duct cancer. However, some factors can increase your risk, including:
- Primary sclerosing cholangitis, a rare liver disease causing long-term inflammation of the liver
- Biliary stones within the liver
- Infection with a liver fluke parasite
- Abnormalities such as cysts in the bile ducts
- Exposure to certain toxins, including thorotrast
There may also be a link between bile duct cancer and long-term hepatitis B and hepatitis C viruses, cirrhosis, diabetes, obesity, excessive alcohol consumption, and smoking.
Tests for Bile Duct Cancer
Your general practitioner may use the following to help diagnose bile duct cancer:
- Medical and physical exam
- Blood tests
- Imaging scans, such as an ultrasound, computerized tomography (CT) scan, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan, or x-rays
- Biopsies
Bile Duct Cancer Alternative Treatment
For over 18 years, our complementary medicine and unorthodox treatments have been helping patients rid their body of cancer symptoms, reconstruct their immune system, and nurture their emotional and spiritual well-being to restore their general healthy disposition. How do we do it? Click here to find out!
Our Promise
- Advanced Cancer Treatments
- Top-Rated Physicians
- Personal Care
- Patient Satisfaction
Our Medical Facilities
At New Hope Unlimited, we pride ourselves in providing superior comfort, cleanliness, and cancer care at our 8,000 square foot medical treatment center in San Luis Rio Colorado, Mexico. We worked with renowned architects and contractors to create the ideal space for recovery, which includes state-of-the-art lounge areas and spacious private in-rooms that assure the comfort of our patients and their loved ones.
To make our patients feel right at home, each private ward is equipped with high-definition U.S. television, quality bedding, and high-speed internet connection. And with proper nutrition playing a vital role in cancer recovery, New Hope Unlimited also fulfills the dietary needs of each patient using fresh, organic produce to prepare breakfasts, lunches, snacks, and dinners.
Comfort and cleanliness are also strictly implemented in our medical treatment rooms, which are equipped with the latest medical supplies and technology to provide the highest standard of care and treatment. Our medical center also has an in-house Hyperbaric Chamber, a well-established therapy for decompression sickness, exclusively available for our patients’ use.
Further, New Hope Unlimited has maintained its exceptional partnership with Hospital Migoo, a medical group comprised of certified physicians and specialists committed to our patients’ care and well-being.
FAQs
1. At what age is bile duct cancer more prevalent?
Over 60% of bile duct cancer patients are 65 years or older.
2. How common is bile duct cancer?
About 2,500 bile duct cancer diagnoses occur in the United States each year.
3. Is recurrence less likely with alternative bile duct cancer protocols?
Making healthy lifestyle choices is the best possible way to prevent recurrence, regardless if you choose a more natural or conventional route to treating your disease. Scheduled checkups are also essential to managing and preventing cancer recurrence.
