Gallbladder cancer

The gallbladder is a small, hollow pouch that lies underneath the liver in the top part of your abdomen behind the lower ribs on your right side. The gallbladder´s main job is to concentrate and stores bile, which is a fluid that is produced in the liver. The bile fluid is passed from the liver into the gallbladder through channels called bile ducts. When the bile is stored in the gallbladder, it becomes more concentrated over time. Bile is produced to help break down (digest) fat by releasing bile into the small bowel when it is needed. The more concentrated the bile is, the more effective it becomes in breaking down the fat. Although the gallbladder is a useful organ we can digest food without it and therefore it is not essential and can be removed. We don´t know the exact cause of gallbladder cancer, but we know of certain factors that can increase people´s risk of developing it. For example, it is thought that smoking, obesity and eating an unhealthy diet can increase the risk and some medical conditions like gallstones, gallbladder infection and diabetes may also increase the risk of developing cancer in the gallbladder. There are different types of gallbladder cancer depending on the type of cells where the cancer starts. Cancer of the gallbladder is quite a rare and please see below if you want to find out more.

To help you find answers to some of your questions, we have linked to Maggie’s CancerLinks where you will be signposted to high quality information about gallbladder cancer. The information on these websites is not written specifically for young people but it is written using simple language in a way that most people will be able to understand. Don’t worry if there are lots of links to different websites. Have a look on the description of the links and very often you will find the information you are searching for on the first website that you look at. If you just want general information about cancer you could read the ‘About cancer’ section on riprap.

Remember that the information on these sites is general. Within each cancer type, there are different variations, different stages, different treatments and people may also respond differently to the same treatments. Each person is an individual and because of this, generic information may not fit the situation you are thinking of. Often your parents or someone else who knows the details can answer your questions best. Also, please feel free to get in touch with us here at riprap. We can help you sorting through information or discuss things you’ve heard or read or anything at all that’s on your mind.

Don’t forget that there are lots of effective treatments for cancer these days and many cancers can be completely cured. There are also very good treatments to control cancers that cannot be cured and research is going on all the time to find new treatments that can control and cure cancers.

Page updated 17 July 2017