The Gallbladder and Cancer

Gallbladder

What is Gallbladder?

The gallbladder is a pear-shaped organ that lies just below the liver in the right upper abdomen.

The gallbladder stores bile, a yellow, brown or greenish liquid made by the liver that aids in digestion of  fat.

When food is being broken down in the stomach and intestines, bile is released from the gallbladder through a tube called the common bile duct.

This tube( common bile duct) connects the gallbladder and liver to the duodenum, first part of the small intestine.

Gallbladder (Anatomy)

The wall of the gallbladder has 3 main layers of tissue.

1. Innermost Layer (Mucosal) 
2. Middle Layer (Muscularis) 
3. Outer Layer (Serosal )

Gallbladder cancer starts from the innermost layer and then subsequently spreads to the other layers. Gallbladder cancer is difficult to detect initially, primarily because there are no visible  symptoms. And when the symptoms emerge they are symptoms of various other problems and by then its too late.

Risk Factor(s )

• Porcelain gallbladder (Chronic gallbladder inflammation)
• Gall stone (Cholelithiasis)
• Gallbladder polyps
• Chronic salmonella infection
• Cyst in the bile duct
• Age
• Ethnicity
• Gender ( more prevalent among women’s)

Symptom(s)

• Abdominal pain
• Loss of appetite
• Nausea or vomiting
• Fever and bloating
• Jaundice

Treatment

• Mainly depends on the extent to which the cancer has spread.
• If surgery is still an option.
• If cancer has returned.
• General health and age of the patient.
• Gallbladder cancer can be cured only if it is found in early stages ( Stage 1 or Stage 2)  i.e before it has spread to other organs.

After the cancer has spread to other body parts, nothing much can be done. Palliative treatment remains the only option. Palliative care aims at improving the patient’s quality of life by controlling symptoms and complications as a result of disease and treatment.

I love you, Papa!