Cancer surgery involves removing tumors and nearby tissue during an operation. Surgery is the oldest and is widely known as the most effective treatment for many types of cancer today.

Cancer surgery can help:

• To diagnose cancer
• To remove all or some of a cancer
• To locate where the cancer is
• To find out if the cancer has spread or is affecting the functions of other organs in the body
• To relieve side effects

Here at KYM Surgery, most of our surgical treatments for cancer are minimally invasive, or often known as laparoscopic (keyhole) surgery. Many studies have shown that laparoscopic surgery is a safe and effective way of cancer surgery. Through small incisions, the "keyholes" allows Dr Kan to insert a tiny camera and small surgical instruments to perform the operation. This allows Dr Kan to see the tumour and the surrounding tissue, and a special device that can take a sample (biopsy) or cut out the cancer. Recovery times are usually shorter than for surgery that requires large cuts, and there is often less pain. Laparoscopic surgery also reduces the chances of complications and is now considered the new standard for many cancer surgery.

After your cancer treatment, continued surveillance, care, and follow up is still crucial, it’s therefore important that we schedule follow-up sessions through the years to review!

• Curative surgery removes the cancerous tumor or growth from the body. Surgeons use curative surgery when the cancerous tumor is localized to a specific area of the body. This type of treatment is often considered the primary treatment. However, other types of cancer treatments, such as radiation, may be used before or after the surgery.

• For most types of cancer, a biopsy is the main way of diagnosing cancer. It involves either removing a piece or the entire suspicious area, such as a mole or lump to study it. A pathologist will then look at the cells, tissues and organs, and passes the report to the surgical oncologist to diagnose.

• Staging surgery involves finding out the size and/or where the tumor has spread. Often, the doctor also removes the neighboring lymph nodes near the cancer.

• Surgery is most commonly used to remove entire/parts of tumors and some of the nearby healthy tissue.
• Some surgeries are done also to lower the risk of getting cancer.

• Relieves side effects caused by a tumor. This typically is used to improve the quality of life for people with advanced cancer, relieve pain, stop bleeding, or restore physical function when tumors cause problems such as pressuring a nerve or creates any blockage.