Surgery as a Primary Cancer Treatment

If you have cancer, an oncologist may have recommended that you receive chemotherapy treatments. However, these treatments can have potential issues, including causing the cancer to come back. Another option that you may want to consider is surgery. Usually, this involves removing the tumor and some surrounding tissue.

Surgical procedure for tumor

Before surgery, a patient will receive anesthesia. This will prevent the patient from feeling pain during surgery. If the patient is awake for the surgery, they may receive sedatives. This will prevent movement that can cause a mistake. There are three main types of anesthesia:

• Local anesthesia – This prevents the patients from feeling anything in a small area. This could be used for a cancerous spot on the skin
• Regional anesthesia – This type of anesthesia makes one part of the body numb. This might include a limb or another area
• General anesthesia – Most major surgeries will use this type of anesthesia. It causes the patient to fall asleep and not remember anything

A surgeon will use a thin knife called a scalpel, along with other sharp tools. To remove the cancerous tumor, the surgeons will need to cut through muscles, skin and even bone. The cuts can sometimes leave scars. It will take a patient a while to recover from the incisions.

Types of surgery for cancer

Most surgeries will require the use of knives. However, some types do not. For example, cryosurgery involves using extreme cold. Argon gas or liquid nitrogen will destroy the tissues that are cancerous. This is a popular method to treat early skin cancer or precancerous growths. This is also known as cryotherapy.

Laser surgery has become more popular in the past few years. In it, a surgeon will use a concentrated beam of light to cut the tissue. This is particularly useful for a small area. A surgeon will use this treatment to destroy or even shrink tumors.

Usually, a surgeon will use a laser to treat a tumor on the inside of an internal organ. This can include cervical and non-small lung cancer. However, the treatment can also be used for tumors on the outside of the body. One example of this is basal cell carcinoma.

A less common treatment option is hyperthermia. The surgeon will expose small areas of the body to extreme temperatures. The heat will kill the cancerous cells. It can also make the cancerous cells more responsive to chemotherapy treatments. This treatment uses a highly energized form of radio waves to produce the heat. However, the treatment is not available around the world yet.

Visit an oncologist today

From lasers to cryosurgery, there are many types of surgeries to choose from. But surgery is just one of the many cancer treatment options available to you today. Other methods can include chemotherapy and radiation treatments. Each patient’s case is different. Surgery may be right for one patient but not another. Making an appointment with an oncologist can help you determine the right treatment option for you.

Get more information about Lindenberg Cancer & Hematology Center in Marltonat https://lindenbergcancer.com.

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