Frequently Asked Questions

Surgical oncology is used to treat most types of cancers including - Breast cancer Colorectal cancer Pancreatic cancer Liver cancer Cancer of the head and neck Lung cancer Ovarian cancer.

There are several risks in surgical oncology. These include - Pain Bleeding Infection Delayed healing of the wound.

As surgical oncology is the first line of treatment, it can be used to treat most types of cancers including breast cancer, colorectal cancer, pancreatic cancer, liver cancer, head and neck cancer, lung cancer, ovarian cancer, etc.

The effectiveness of the cancer treatment is dependent on its stage. Therefore, every doctor recommends early diagnosis of cancer as it ensures that cancer cells and affected tissues are removed effectively and timely care is provided.

Medical oncology makes use of medicines to treat cancer, whereas surgical oncology uses surgical procedures to restrict and remove cancer growth.

A general surgery cannot handle the complicated and specialized cases of cancer while a surgical oncologist is trained to perform surgical procedures and techniques to treat cancer.

Medical oncologists treat cancer using chemotherapy, hormonal therapy, biological therapy, and targeted therapy whereas radiation oncologists use radiation therapy to treat cancer.

Depending on the objective of the treatment, various types of procedures are performed In surgical oncology. These include - Diagnostic surgery - This type of surgery generally involves cutting out a small area of the tissue (incisional biopsy) or removing an entire mass (excisional biopsy).to determine whether the tumour is benign or not. Preventive surgery - This type of surgery is performed to prevent the cancer risk and during this surgery, any risk factors that may lead to cancer are detected and removed. Staging Surgery - It is a procedure that is performed to check the stage of cancer. Curative surgery - Once cancer has been detected and its stage has been determined, curative surgery is performed to remove the cancer cells and other body tissues that may be affected by the cancer cells. Reconstructive surgery - This surgery is performed to restore and reconstruct the affected body part. Palliative surgery - Even though this surgery may not treat cancer, but it provides relief from the symptoms of cancer. With palliative surgery, your doctor will remove the pain-causing tumours in your body.

Surgical oncology is a treatment method where your oncologist will make use of surgery to treat cancer. This type of treatment method also involves the application of chemotherapy, radiation therapy, surgery, hormone therapy, bone marrow transplant, immunotherapy, targeted drug therapy and more. In surgical oncology, your oncologist will perform the following procedures - Performs biopsy to diagnose and determine the stage and type of cancer. Surgically removes the tumour or a part of it along with other affected body parts. Reconstructs the parts that are affected by the surgical treatment.