Surgery as a Treatment for Cancer
When Is Surgery Necessary?
Although most patients will have a biopsy performed,
not all cancers require surgical treatment. Some
cancers are best treated with chemotherapy or radiation
therapy, or both. In some instances, the cancer may
be too big or too difficult to remove with surgery.1
Your healthcare team will work with you to decide whether surgery
is part of your overall treatment plan. If surgery is necessary,
you will have a number of tests to determine if you can have surgery and if the surgery will benefit you.
One common surgical procedure used to diagnose cancer is called a biopsy.1-3 A biopsy means taking a tissue sample from your body for examination by a specialist in a laboratory.
- Positive biopsy indicates that cancer has been seen in the biopsy.
- Negative biopsy means that no cancer was found in the tissue sample, but your physician may want to repeat the biopsy if they believe there could be an error.
Diagnosing Cancer With Surgery
When surgery is used to treat cancer some tissue
near or next to the cancer is typically removed. In addition to providing
local treatment of the cancer, the surgery often provides information to your physician that will help to determine a treatment plan (for example, using radiation therapy or chemotherapy once you recover from the surgery).
Over the years, continuing advances in surgery have led to safer procedures that are less invasive and less complicated.1,4 As a result,
some surgeries that used to require several days in the hospital are now performed
safely in an outpatient setting.
Surgery is not without risk or side effects.1 To play
an active role in your treatment, learn more about the
types and risks of surgery.
In addition to surgery, chemotherapy is another way to treat
cancer. Learn more about treating
cancer with chemotherapy.
1. Surgery. American Cancer Society website. Updated June 2, 2010. http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_1_2X_Surgery.asp?. Accessed June 2, 2010.
2. Dictionary of cancer terms—definition of positive test result. National Cancer Institute website. http://www.cancer.gov/Templates/db_alpha.aspx?CdrID=44710. Accessed June 2, 2010.
3. Dictionary of cancer terms—definition of negative test result. National Cancer Institute website. http://www.cancer.gov/Templates/db_alpha.aspx?CdrID=44692. Accessed June 2, 2010.
4. Dictionary of cancer terms—definition of invasive procedure. National Cancer Institute website. http://www.cancer.gov/dictionary/?CdrID=257210. Accessed June 4, 2010.
Understanding Cancer –
Chemotherapy Side Effects –
Treating Cancer in Other Ways
Tracking Your Test Results –
Understanding Insurance and Tax Issues
Chemotherapy Resources and Organizations –
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