Many specialists consider surgery as a first step in cancer treatment as it can be used for cancer diagnose and draw the stage of cancer as well as treat cancer.
Surgery is used to remove the tumor from one place or to reduce the size of a large tumor, so other therapies are more effective. Surgery is the treatment that is enough to treat the cancer alone, but some times it is also used in combination with chemotherapy or radiation therapy. Surgery may also be recommended to reduce pain or other related symptoms.
Surgery or an operation is expected in most of the people with cancer at some point or the other. The chances of survival with surgery are very high in people whose cancer has not spread to other parts of the body.
The main goals to perform surgery are
Preventive surgery – is used for pre-cancerous condition specially to remove a non-malignant tissue of the body that can become malignant.
Diagnostic surgery- is used to detect malignancy and the type of cancer. A tissue sample is taken from the suspicious organ and examined under the microscope for cancerous cells.
Staging surgery – is used to determine the aggressiveness of the cancer and its spread to other tissues in the body.
Curative surgery – is used especially in conditions where the tumor has not spread and is confined to one area.
This type of surgery can be used alone to treat the cancer or in conjunction with other treatments like chemotherapy or radiotherapy.
Debulking surgery – is used mainly for advanced stages of cancer, where the bulk of cancerous region is removed with the help of a surgery and the rest is treated with chemotherapy or radiotherapy.
Palliative surgery – is used to remove the obstruction/complications in advanced stages of cancer.
It is used to correct the pain and discomfort caused due to enlarged tumor which is difficult to control by other treatments.
Supportive surgery – is used as a support with other treatments of cancer.
Restorative/reconstructive surgery – is used to reconstruct other healthy tissues that are lost in the process of removing malignancy from the body.
Surgery is not always performed with the help of large instruments that cut the skin and remove/replace the body parts. With modern techniques the concept of surgery is changing.
Laser surgery – uses a powerful beam of light that is focused and precise to do surgical work.
Cryosurgery – is used to treat some precancerous conditions with the help of a liquid nitrogen spray or to freeze abnormal cell with cold probe.
Electro surgery – used mainly for cancers of skin and mouth where high-frequency electrical current is used to kill the cancerous cells.
Mohs surgery – used to treat some skin cancers with the help of a microscope.
It is very important to use preventive measures, cope with surgery and have a strong will to deal with the situation.
