Bile Duct Cancer (cholangiocarcinoma) is sometimes misdiagnosed as Metastases

It has been reported that some patients have been misdiagnosed with Metastases, when in fact the correct diagnosis in their specific case was Bile Duct Cancer (cholangiocarcinoma).

Bile duct cancer (cholangiocarcinoma) is a type of cancer that forms in the tubes that connect your liver to your gallbladder and intestine. Symptoms include yellowing of skin and white of eyes, intensely itchy skin, white faeces, fatigue, abdominal pain on right side, loss of weigh, fever, dark urine and night sweats. Early diagnosis is difficult and as such most patients don’t present till a late stage with untreatable cancer that has a 2% survival rate. Bile duct cancer can be misdiagnosed as other conditions that impact the bile duct such as primary sclerosing cholangitis, secondary sclerosing cholangitis, recurrent pyogenic cholangitis, or autoimmune pancreatitis-cholangitis syndrome.

Always consult your doctor or health professional, and do not self diagnose.

Symptoms can include:

Right side abdominal pain, losing weight, fever, night sweats, dark urine, jaundice, intensely itchy skin, white coloured stools, fatigue

Symptoms are a guideline only and may apply to either the diagnosis or the reported misdiagnosis, or both. Consult your specialist for further information.

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