Liver Disease Prevention

Liver Disease Prevention

The key to winning the fight against liver disease is prevention. Whether you are completely healthy or fighting advanced liver disease, we deliver a range of preventive services to keep your liver as healthy as possible.

With outreach clinics throughout Northern California and Nevada, we make it possible for you to receive preventive care from nationally renowned liver disease experts close to home.

We offer personalized care and support regardless of your liver disease risk:

• If you do not have liver disease: We teach you how to keep your liver disease risks low for years to come.
• If you have been diagnosed with liver disease: We offer innovative treatments to help maximize your current liver functioning and slow the progression of liver damage.

Unlike other organs, your liver grows new tissue (regenerates) while healing from illness and injury. After too much damage, your liver not only loses its ability to regenerate, but it can stop working (liver failure). Preventive care allows us to catch disease and complications in their earliest stages, helping you live the best possible quality of life.

Understanding Liver Disease Progression

In order to understand why prevention is so important, it is helpful to know more about the progression of liver disease:

• Inflammation: The first sign of liver disease is inflammation. Inflammation is your body’s natural response to infection and injury. You may not notice any symptoms at this point, which is why liver disease testing is so important.
• Fibrosis: If your liver remains inflamed over a long period of time, the tissue becomes thick and fibrous (fibrosis). Fibrosis makes it difficult for your liver to do its job. With proper care and treatment, this condition is reversible.
• Cirrhosis: Cirrhosis, also known as chronic liver disease, happens when fibrosis becomes so severe, your liver tissue transforms into scar tissue. Cirrhosis is not reversible and increases your risk for complications, such as liver cancer. 
• Liver Cancer: Liver cancer happens when cancer forms in your liver tissue. Liver cancer can develop at any stage of liver disease. Although it is possible to recover from liver cancer, some people still need a liver transplant. 
• Liver failure: The most advanced stage of liver disease is liver failure. Liver failure means that your liver is no longer able to do its job. When this happens, you need a liver transplant to survive. Learn more about our Liver Transplant Program.