The doctors saw a mass on my cousins liver yesterday as large as his liver. He is an alcoholic and has been for over 20 years. He s had a problem with hemmoroids forthe past 5 years. I believe that maybe he has either colon cancer that has spread to his liver or he has liver cancer. I am not sure. I will not know until later on today. I have been reading and what I have read compared to what I know, its not good. His mother, on the other hand was out of town when the diagnosis was given. She does not know how serious his illness is. She will be back today and I want to be there for her and him. They have a very close relationship and he is completely oblivious to what is going on (because this is his first visit to the doctor and he is 51).What do I say to him? What do I say to her? I am a social worker/ therapist but have trouble dealing with issues with my family w/out coming across too insensitive. I am the baby of my family and they do listen to me but I have to be very careful as to not offend.
Hi and welcome to Chat Doctor. Thank you for your query. I am Chat Doctor, I will try to help you as much as I can. You should not tell him anything yet since you don't know the exact diagnosis. Mass in liver means that there is some tumor in liver which may be malignant or benign. In cirrhosis, it is more likely that this is malignant, and then it is a bad sign since prognosis is very poor. But it should still be evaluated by further tests especially MRI scan or ERCP. I am afraid that this tumor may require surgery and chemotherapy and after the diagnosis is established then you can tell him about further steps and prognosis. I hope I have answered you query. If you have any further questions you can contact us in every time. Kindly regards. Wish you good health.