Cancer surgery is a medical procedure to remove a tumor and possibly some tissue nearby. It is one of the conventional cancer treatments that still works well in the treatment of many types of cancer today. Surgery aims to remove the tumor in the body, help the body work the way it used to, or relieve side effects.
Reasons you might have cancer surgery
Cancer prevention. For some types of cancer, it’s possible to remove an organ before cancer develops. In this way, surgery helps prevent cancer.
Diagnosis. Surgery might be used to get a piece of tissue for testing. The sample is tested in a lab to see if it’s cancerous. Other tests might look at the genetic makeup of the cells. The results help your health care team plan your treatment.
Staging. Cancer surgery can show the size of the cancer and whether it has spread. This information is used to figure out the cancer’s stage. The cancer’s stage tells your provider how serious your condition is and whether you need aggressive treatment.
Primary treatment. For many cancers, surgery is the main treatment.
Debulking. Sometimes surgery can’t remove all of the cancer. A surgeon may remove as much as possible. This is called debulking.
Relieving symptoms or side effects. Surgery is also used to improve your quality of life. For example, it can get rid of pain caused by a cancer that’s pressing on a nerve or bone. It could be used to remove a cancer that’s blocking the intestine.
Surgery is often used with other cancer treatments. These treatments can include chemotherapy, radiation therapy and other treatments. Which treatments are best for you depends on the type of cancer you have, its stage and your overall health.
Disadvantages of cancer surgery
Minor operations and taking tissue samples (biopsies) usually have less risk than a bigger surgery. Pain at the surgery site is the most common problem. Infections at the site and reactions to the drugs used to numb the area (local anesthesia) are also possible.
Some side effects are possible during and after surgery. Generally, these side effects are not expected to be life threatening. They can include:
- Bleeding
- Blood clots
- Damage to nearby tissues
- Drug reactions
- Damage to other organs
- Pain
- Infections
- Slow recovery of other body functions