How is surgery used to treat cancer?

Surgery is often one of the first steps for many cancer patients. It can be used in obtaining a biopsy as part of the diagnosis, or it can be part of the treatment plan.

Unlike radiation and chemotherapy which destroy the cancer cells but leave them in the body, surgery tries to remove the cancerous tumor or tissues from the body. In many cases, lymph nodes found near the tumor are also removed to help determine if the cancer has spread. Depending on the type of cancer and its location in the body, different types of surgeons may be involved in your care. For example, a urologist would perform prostate surgery, while a thoracic surgeon would perform lung cancer surgery.

The advances in surgical technology in recent years have been significant. While not suited for every patient and every diagnosis, less-invasive approaches to surgery, which help patients recover faster, are used whenever appropriate.

The mainstay of treatment for many solid (hard) tumors is surgery to remove the cancer and to determine whether or not the cancer has spread. Surgery is not an exact science, and there are risks and benefits to any procedure doctors perform on patients. Most hospitals use a standard consent form for surgical procedures whether it involves surgery on your brain or surgery on your toe (or anywhere in between). Standard risks from surgery typically include bleeding, infection, and damage to nearby organs. Unfortunately, on the rare occasion, patients may experience severe complications or even death. Anesthesia has its own risk, but that risk is generally very small.

While all of this may sound scary or even overwhelming, the truth of the matter is that surgery is a very safe practice in the 21st century. If your doctor is recommending surgery, he or she has likely explained to you that the benefits of surgery far outweigh the risks in your particular case. In any event, before undergoing any surgical procedure, make sure you understand the full extent of the procedure being proposed as well as risks and benefits associated with it.

Always discuss with your doctor any alternatives to surgery to treat your condition, and strive to understand the advantages or disadvantages of each treatment plan. Surgery has come a long way in the past several decades, and many procedures have been streamlined and techniques have been modified that now allow radical surgeries to be performed through small incisions. Depending on the type and location of your cancer, you may be a candidate for minimally invasive (laparoscopic) surgery or even robotic surgery. While you are getting the same surgery on the inside, the incisions on your skin are the size of band-aids and because of that, recovery from surgery is significantly faster than if you had a traditional open surgery. An overall quicker recovery period means a better quality of life and includes less surgical pain, less need for pain medications, less time in the hospital, and a quicker return to your normal lifestyle. Minimally invasive surgery is not for everyone, but is worth asking your doctor about, especially if you are undergoing any type of abdominal or pelvic surgery.