This year’s theme for Black History Month is Black Resistance.

Let’s raise our voices to eliminate health disparities.

Liver cancer rates are rising in the Black community while declining in other ethnic communities. Let us all do our part to increase awareness and liver cancer prevention in our community.

Let’s raise our voices to eliminate health disparities.

Liver cancer rates are rising in the Black community while declining in other ethnic communities. 

Let us all do our part to increase awareness and liver cancer prevention in our community.

What Does the Liver Do? – Liver Function

Your liver is vital to your metabolic, detoxification, and immune systems. It takes care of all your body’s functions. Your liver performs 300 functions for your body, including 200 at one time. Your liver eliminates toxins, stores 10 percent of your blood, and cleans 3 pints of blood every minute.

Cirrhosis of the Liver

Cirrhosis is a late stage of scarring of the liver caused by many forms of liver diseases and conditions. Each time your liver is injured, it tries to repair itself. In the process, scar tissue forms. Advanced cirrhosis is life-threatening, but there are steps you can take to keep your liver healthy and avoid this disease.

Liver Disease Related Symptoms

Your liver doesn’t have pain receptors. That is why liver cancer is often diagnosed in later stages. Although many cases of liver cancer are preventable, most symptoms go undetected and overlooked. Symptoms of liver disease can vary. It’s important to know what to look out for and when a symptom may be a sign of something more serious.

African Americans are

1.5x more likely

to get liver cancer and
incidence rates are on the rise

African Americans are

~2x more likely

to develop type 2 diabetes

 

African Americans are

2x more likely

to die from Hepatitis C and
can develop HCC at 
earlier stages of liver disease

African Americans have

the highest

mortality rates of any ethnic group and are less likely to be diagnosed with early stage liver cancer