How Surgery is Used
to Treat Cancer

Most people who have been diagnosed with cancer will undergo some type of surgery. There are many reasons why your doctor may recommend surgery, including the following:

Prevention – In some cases, your doctor may recommend removing certain tissues or organs before cancer develops.

Diagnosis – Your doctor may biopsy all or part of a tumor so that is can be examined for cancerous cells.

Staging – Cancer surgery can help your doctor determine how advanced your cancer is. The size of your tumor can be determined, as well as whether or not it has spread to your lymph nodes.

Primary treatment – For many types of cancer, surgery

Debulking – If it is not possible to remove all of a cancerous tumor without damaging other organs, your doctor may remove as much as possible (debulking) in order to make chemotherapy or radiation more effective.

Palliative surgery is used to treat complications of advanced cancer for which there is no cure. For example, it may be used to relieve pain caused by a tumor that’s pressing on a nerve, or to remove a large tumor that’s obstructing your intestine.

Reconstructive surgery is used to restore appearance or the function of an organ or body part after primary surgery. Examples include breast reconstruction after mastectomy or the use of tissue flaps, bone grafts, or prosthetics after surgery for oral cavity cancers.