You will be given lactulose, a drink that reduces the amounts of toxins absorbed into your intestinal tract. You may be started on a low-protein diet. You might be sent home and instructed to take lactulose every day and change to a low protein diet, but to return if symptoms come back. For unknown reasons, liver failure sometimes leads to kidney failure. Without a liver transplant, kidney failure usually is fatal, often causing several organs throughout the body to fail.
People often develop liver cancer before they develop cirrhosis.
You may die within 3-6 months after diagnosis if the cancer remains untreated. Even with treatment, people rarely survive beyond 5 years. Surgery is the only chance for a cure, but usually the cancer has progressed too far by the time surgery is performed. Liver transplantation may also be considered. Researchers are studying various experimental treatments, such as chemoembolization, alcohol ablation, cryoablation, immunotherapy, and gene therapy.