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Community Bulletin Board

Lay forum underscores importance of liver health


Although many Filipinos have become more health conscious in recent years, attention to one of the most important and vital organs – the liver, remains low.  “Liver cancer and liver diseases are some of the top reasons why people get hospitalized,”says Hepatobiliary and Laparoscopic Surgeon Dr. Wilfedo T. Polido, Jr. of St. Luke’s Medical Center-Global City (SLMC-GC). 
 
“The most common liver disease right now is Hepatitis B. Liver cancer also ranks top 5 in terms of leading causes of cancer death in the Philippines,” he adds. Aside from poor diet and lifestyle, the exclusion of liver screening as part of a regular health check also contributes as a risk factor.   
 
In order to increase the awareness of liver health, St. Luke’s-Global City’s Liver Disease and Transplant Center will hold a free lay forum entitled “Liver Health and You” on April 18, 2013 (Thursday), at the Henry Sy, Sr. Auditorium, of SLMC-GC from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.. The event will cover various topics from basic to complex concerns, including keeping one’s liver healthy, caring for an injured liver, and discussions on the failing liver. In addition, vaccinations, treatment options, including liver transplantation will also be explained. An open forum with a panel of experts from St. Luke’s Liver Disease and Transplant Center will also be held to provide participants with the opportunity to clarify or discuss specific health issues.
 
Aside from the dissemination of vital information on liver health, the lay forum will also give free ultrasound-elastography to the first 50 participants who register. “Shearwave elastography (SWE) is a special type of ultrasound wherein one would get an accurate status of the liver without the need to do biopsy,” Dr. Polido notes. Compared to a biopsy which is invasive and presents risks for bleeding and infection, SWE may provide important information doctors would need to properly diagnose and stage liver diseases such as fibrosis or cirrhosis, without the associated complications. The procedure is fast and easy to perform, and can be done repeatedly to monitor the progression one’s liver disease as well as to quantitatively measure the effect of a particular treatment.
 
“The main objective of this lay forum is to see a decline in the number of people affected by liver disease in the next generations. With awareness, people will consult, be treated and be given precautions. And together with Hepatitis B vaccination efforts, this will eventually result in the prevention of the dissemination of disease. Prevention is still the gold standard in the management of liver disease,” adds Dr. Polido.
 
For inquiries on the lay forum, call the St. Luke’s Liver Disease and Transplant Center at (02) 789700 ext. 2038 for Global City of (02) 7230101/0301 ext. 4178 for Quezon City.
 
Press release from St. Luke’s Medical Center-Global City
Tags: liver, cancer
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