Surgical oncology is a cancer care field that focuses on using surgery to diagnose, stage and treat cancer. Surgical oncologists may also perform palliative surgeries to help control pain, increase a patient’s comfort level and manage cancer-related symptoms and side effects.
Whether a patient is a candidate for surgery depends on factors such as the type, size, location, grade and stage of the tumor, as well as issues related to the patient’s health, including age, physical fitness and other medical conditions.
Many patients may have cancer surgery combined with other treatments, such as chemotherapy, radiation therapy and/or hormone therapy. Nonsurgical treatments may be administered before surgery (neoadjuvant therapy) or after surgery (adjuvant therapy) to help prevent cancer growth, metastasis or recurrence.
Depending on the type of cancer, the size of the tumor and its location, surgery may be performed using minimally invasive techniques, such as laparoscopy or robotic surgery. Other conditions may require open surgeries, which are more invasive and have larger incisions. A surgical oncologist may work with other doctors and clinicians to help reduce pain and other side effects and speed recovery from surgery.
