What to Expect With Cancer Surgery

The simple versionExplain▾

Surgery, when used to treat cancer, is a procedure in which a surgeon removes cancer from your body. Surgeons are medical doctors with special training in surgery.

Surgery works best for solid tumors that are contained in one area. It is a local treatment, meaning it treats only the part of your body with the cancer. It is not used for leukemia (a blood cancer) or for cancers that have spread. Sometimes surgery is the only treatment you need, but most often you will also have other cancer treatments.

Surgery removes the cancer, and it works best for solid tumors in one place.

How surgery works against cancerExplain▾

Depending on your cancer and how advanced it is, surgery can be used to:

• Remove the entire tumor when the cancer is contained in one area.
• Debulk a tumor — remove part of it when taking the whole thing might damage an organ or the body. Removing part can help other treatments work better.
• Ease symptoms by removing tumors that cause pain or pressure.

Open and minimally invasive surgeryExplain▾

Surgeons often use small, thin knives called scalpels and other sharp tools. Surgery often requires cuts through skin, muscles, and sometimes bone, which can be painful and take time to heal. There are also ways to do surgery without scalpels, such as cryosurgery (extreme cold), lasers, hyperthermia (heat), and photodynamic therapy.

Surgery may be open or minimally invasive:

• In open surgery, the surgeon makes one large cut to remove the tumor, some healthy tissue, and maybe some nearby lymph nodes.
• In minimally invasive surgery, the surgeon makes a few small cuts. They insert a long, thin tube with a tiny camera, called a laparoscope, into one cut. The camera shows the inside of the body on a monitor, and special tools go through the other small cuts to remove the tumor and some healthy tissue.

Because minimally invasive surgery uses smaller cuts, it usually takes less time to recover from than open surgery.

Anesthesia keeps you comfortableExplain▾

Anesthesia keeps you from feeling pain during surgery. It refers to drugs or other substances that cause you to lose feeling or awareness. There are three types:

• Local anesthesia causes loss of feeling in one small area.
• Regional anesthesia causes loss of feeling in a part of the body, such as an arm or leg.
• General anesthesia causes loss of feeling and a complete loss of awareness that seems like a very deep sleep.

Before, during, and afterExplain▾

Before surgery, a nurse may call to tell you how to prepare. You may need tests such as blood tests, a chest x-ray, or an electrocardiogram (ECG). You may not be able to eat or drink for a certain period beforehand — following these instructions matters, or your surgery may be rescheduled. You may also be asked to have wound-care supplies on hand.

During surgery, once you are under anesthesia, the surgeon removes the cancer, usually along with some healthy tissue around it. This improves the chances that all the cancer is removed. The surgeon may also remove lymph nodes or other nearby tissues to check under a microscope whether the cancer has spread. That information helps guide your treatment plan.

After surgery, the nurse will tell you how to take care of yourself before you go home — how to control pain, which activities to do or avoid, how to care for your wound, how to spot signs of infection, and when you can return to work. You will have at least one more visit with the surgeon a week or two later, and possibly more for complex surgeries.

Risks and recoveryExplain▾

Surgeons are highly trained and work to prevent problems, but sometimes problems happen. The most common are pain, which your team helps you manage, and infection, which you can help prevent by following wound-care instructions. Other risks include bleeding, damage to nearby tissues, and reactions to anesthesia.

You will need time off work to recover — from as little as one day to many weeks. How long depends on the type of anesthesia, the type and extent of the surgery, and the kind of work you do. If you have an active job, you may need more time than if you sit at a desk. Ask your doctor how long you will need, and talk with your employer about medical leave if your recovery will be longer. Surgery also increases your need for good nutrition, so tell your team if you have trouble eating, and consider speaking with a dietitian.