David Bowie Cancer Battle: 5 Liver Cancer Symptoms You Need to Watch Out For

  • comments
  • print
  • email
Jan 12, 2016 07:30 AM EST

"Look up here, I'm in heaven," so goes the opening line of David Bowie's latest release "Lazarus." For his many fans around the world, it would be another line from the flamboyant showman who is a "master of reinvention," as British Prime Minister David Cameron put it best. But, perhaps it's one of those creative means from the English singer and songwriter to reach out to his fans; to console them when his gone.

The single was part of Bowie's twenty-fifth and final studio album released on his 69th birthday on Jan. 8, 2016, just a couple of days before his passing. And, this time, his loss would be for real and not just another hoax, the Independent reported.

The death of the musical genius revered by many was confirmed by his publicist. "David Bowie died peacefully today surrounded by his family after a courageous 18 month battle with cancer," a statement reads from his social media accounts. "While many of you will share in this loss, we ask that you respect the family's privacy during their time of grief."

Apart from his various transformations and theatrical antics, Bowie was primarily known for his hit songs like "Space Oddity," "Life on Mars," "Let's Dance," "Rebel Rebel," "Changes," "Starman," "Under Pressure" and "Modern Love."

Dutch News reported that Bowie died from liver cancer through the words of Belgian theatre director Ivo van Hove who collaborated with the British musician before he passed away. And, as we bid farewell to the one and only Ziggy Stardust, it's also one of the best times to look into this form of cancer which has taken the lives of not just one of the most iconic men from the music industry, but of countless of lives, in general.

According to the CDC, there are around 20,000 men and 8,000 women who get liver cancer in the U.S. every year, and about 16,000 men and 7,000 women die from the disease.

"Signs and symptoms of liver cancer often do not show up until the later stages of the disease, but sometimes they may show up sooner," says the American Cancer Society. Here are some of the liver cancer symptoms you should watch out for.

1. Weight loss (without trying), loss of appetite or feeling very full after a small meal

2. Nausea or vomiting

3. An enlarged liver, felt as a mass under the ribs on the right side; and an enlarged spleen, felt as a mass under the ribs on the left side

4. Swelling or fluid build-up in the abdomen

5. Yellowing of the skin and eyes (jaundice)

Join the Conversation
Real Time Analytics