How dangerous is the disease that makes Vu Cat Tuong worry about having cancer?

Appearing on the show Weekend Appointment , Vu Cat Tuong attracted attention when she shared for the first time about her current health condition. The female singer said she is being treated for hepatitis B, a disease that her biological father had.

"I have to take medicine every day and have cancer screening every 3 months because I have a very high risk of getting cancer," said the singer.

Vu Cat Tuong revealed her illness on television (Photo: Screenshot).

Hepatitis B is also the disease that her biological father had before he died of liver cancer.

The female artist's story evokes much sympathy and is also a warning about a silent but extremely dangerous disease.

Hepatitis B can remain in the body for many years without causing obvious symptoms. However, when detected, many cases have entered the late stage - with serious complications such as cirrhosis or liver cancer.

Is hepatitis B really scary?

According to Dr. Le Van Thieu, Department of General Infection, Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases, hepatitis B is the most common and dangerous infectious disease today.

The disease is caused by the hepatitis B virus, affecting more than 10% of the Vietnamese population. In addition to causing acute or fulminant hepatitis B leading to liver failure, the disease also progresses silently, silently, without symptoms for many years and can progress to cirrhosis and especially liver cancer.

BSCKI Le Van Thieu, Department of General Infection, Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases (Photo: Quang Truong).

Hepatitis B virus is the common cause (70%) of liver cancer in Vietnam today.

"The scariest thing is that the disease does not show obvious symptoms in the early stages. The patient still lives and works normally, but the liver is gradually damaged. By the time symptoms such as jaundice, weight loss, and pain in the liver area appear, the disease is already in the late stages," Dr. Thieu analyzed.

The positive point is that hepatitis B can be completely controlled if detected early by testing. With inactive forms, patients only need to have regular check-ups every 3-6 months and do not need antiviral treatment.

With active form, currently antiviral drugs are very good and popular, with few side effects such as: TAF, TDF, ETV.

These antiviral drugs help inhibit viral replication, clear the virus from the patient's blood, help the patient live a healthy life and no longer have the risk of infection.

However, the prerequisite is to comply with treatment, do not stop taking medication or quit taking medication on your own.

"Medication should be used or stopped according to the doctor's instructions. Patients should have regular tests and screening for liver cancer," said Dr. Thieu.

Can hepatitis B be transmitted from father to child?

According to Dr. Thieu, hepatitis B is not a genetic disease. The disease is transmitted through blood and body fluids such as blood transfusion, sexual intercourse, injections and especially from mother to child.

For transmission through sexual intercourse, the patient will be infected with acute hepatitis B, meaning the time from infection to recovery is less than 6 months, the rate of conversion to chronic is less than 10%.

Hepatitis B is not a genetic disease (Photo: Getty).

However, for mother-to-child transmission, the rate of children infected with hepatitis B and becoming chronically infected is greater than 90%. Therefore, the main and most common cause in Vietnam is from mother to child.

"It is possible for a mother to be infected with hepatitis B from her father during pregnancy and give birth during the acute hepatitis infection stage (within 6 months).

After giving birth, the mother is lucky to recover from the disease and has antibodies, which help the mother not to be infected with hepatitis B for the rest of her life. However, the child who is infected by the mother during that period will have chronic hepatitis B, because the rate of recovery from hepatitis during this period is less than 10%," Dr. Thieu analyzed.

This may explain why hepatitis B can be transmitted from father to child through the mother. It also explains why other children in the family are not infected.

The most effective way to prevent disease is still vaccination.

Dr. Thieu affirmed that the simplest and most effective way to prevent hepatitis B is to get vaccinated. Hepatitis B vaccine has now been included in the national expanded immunization program for newborns. For adults who are not immune, it is necessary to perform antibody tests and get enough shots according to medical instructions.

In addition, preventing infectious factors is also extremely important. Hepatitis B virus can be transmitted through blood, secretions, etc., so not sharing razors, toothbrushes, needles or having unsafe sex are all behaviors that should be avoided.

In addition, doctors also recommend maintaining a healthy lifestyle to protect the liver: eat scientifically, limit alcohol, do not smoke, exercise regularly and avoid using drugs of unknown origin that are toxic to the liver.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/suc-khoe/can-benh-khien-vu-cat-tuong-lo-mac-ung-thu-nguy-hiem-the-nao-20250514074326725.htm