Surgery and Cancer

Surgery is the safest of the three
conventional cancer treatments.
When should you do surgery?
Are there any side effects?

The oldest form of conventional cancer treatment is the surgical operation.

As compared with radiation therapy and chemotherapy, surgical operations do not target to damage healthy cells (unless there is carelessness on the part of the surgeon).

The aim of the operation is to remove the malignant tumor physically that is located on an isolated spot.

There are two main types of surgical operations used in cancer treatment.

One is the actual removal of the tumor (invasive surgery), while the other is to remove a small portion for diagnostic purposes (biopsy).

If the surgical remedy is very minor for small cancer tumors, it is just called a procedure instead of surgery.

In diagnostic surgery or biopsy, the doctor intends to cut and remove a sample of the suspected tissue for laboratory diagnostic.

The purpose is to investigate whether the tumor is malignant or benign, and to tell what type of cancer it is.

Often a surgical operation is given together with other convention treatments like radiation and chemotherapy.

You need to find out all the benefits, risks and side effects of surgical procedures before you proceed with it.

Is surgical prescription a complete cure for cancer?

Surgical prescription is not a complete cure because:

1. You can remove the local cancer tumor but you cannot remove all the cancer cells in your body. Prior to removal, the tumor is connected to your blood vessels. It is their lifeline. The cancer cells are in the tumor and also in the blood stream. They are carried all over the body by your own blood vessels. Surgical operations may cause other secondary cancers to develop when carried away by the blood vessels.

2. Surgical operation may only be used at the early stage of cancer detection. If the cancer had already spread to other organs, the operation is impossible. If the tumor is too attached to important organs, or too deeply within vital body parts, then the operation cannot be done due to the high risks involved.

3. There is no reliable way to detect whether the tumor is localized or has already metastasized to another part.

4. The surgeon cannot remove all the cancer cells in a particular tumor without damaging other healthy cells nearby. If the doctor is overly cautious in removal, then the remaining malignant cancer cells may spread even more. If the doctor wants to be very sure, he has to remove slightly more than the tumor which will inevitably damaged nearby tissues.

5. Recent studies have shown that surgical treatment is often responsible for the spread of cancer. Due to the surgeon's manipulation of the tumor, millions of cancer cells may be leaked into the blood stream.

6. Also, surgical biopsies may have contributed to the spread of cancer. The external and internal damage to the body by biopsy needles may cause the cancer cells to spill out to other parts.

Surgery is big business

A surgeon needs to perform a minimum number of surgical operations every month in order for his own financial survival and the justification of the expenses of the operating theatre.

Because of the necessity to cover such expenses, some surgeons are under pressure to perform unwarranted operations. The more medical operations on cancer, the more money the doctor and the hospital get.

Due to the unscrupulous motives of a few bad "apples", the American Cancer Society suggests to cancer patients to question the surgeon before the operation, such as:

1. Why am I having this operation? What are the chances of its success?

2. Is there any other way to treat this cancer?

3. Other than my cancer, am I healthy enough to go through the stress of the operation and the drugs used to do it (anesthesia)?

4. Are you certified by the American Board of Surgery and/or Specialty Surgery Board?

5. How many operations like this have you done? What is your success rate? Are you experienced in operating on my kind of cancer?

6. Exactly what will you be doing in this operation? What will you be taking out? Why?

7. How long will the surgical procedure take?

8. Will I need blood transfusions?

9. What can I expect after the operation? Will I be in a lot of pain? Will I have drains or catheters? How long will I be in the hospital after the operation?

10. How will my body be affected by the surgical procedure? Will it work or look different? Will any of the effects be permanent?

11. How long will it take for me to recover enough to go back to my usual activities?

12. What are the possible risks and side effects of this operation? What is the risk of death or disability with this operation?

13. What will happen if I choose not to have the operation?

14. What are the chances that the surgical treatment will cure my cancer?

15. Do I have time to think about my options or get a second opinion?

Risks or side effects of surgery

All surgeries, regardless whether it is for cancer or not, have risks.

The more complicated the surgical operation, the greater the exposure to risks and side effects.

The risks also become greater when the patient has a history of other sicknesses, allergies or deficiencies.

Biopsies may have some risks, but they do not have as much as invasive surgery.

Before the operation, tranquilizers are given to calm the patient and prevent increase in blood pressure. Then anesthesia is given for the operation together with heavy doses of antibiotics, hoping to prevent future infection. The pumping in of so many drugs will certainly have many side effects too.

Complications of surgery may occur.

During the operation, some of the side effects include bleeding during the operation causing you to require blood transfusion, internal damage to organs, blood vessels due to negligence, your body reacting negatively to the drugs or anesthetic used, or other problems with your internal organs such as yourheart, lungs, kidneys or liver.

After the operation, the side effects may include pain, infection at the incision area, infections at other nearby organs, internal bleeding, internal blood clots and reduced functions in other parts of the body due to fatigue. Due to these effects, the patient is administered more drugs to reduce pain etc.

Weigh the pros and cons

Surgery is a conventional / orthodox method of cancer treatment and maybe considered as the best of them.

However, surgical operation has many risks and side effects, and my tip is that you would only choose surgery as a last resort.

The doctor will tell you that time is short and you need to operate now. No, he is wrong, there are many alternatives and surgery does not have to be immediate.

What are the circumstances for you to choose surgery?

1. When the cancer tumor is blocking another organ or causing the nearby organ to malfunction, then a surgical operation is the fastest method to relieve the blockage.

2. When the tumor is obstructing the passage of blood vessels supplying oxygen to vital organs, the passage of air into the lungs or the passage of liquid into the oesophagus, then an operation may be a necessary procedure.

3. Some tumors may cause internal bleeding and if the bleeding cannot be stopped by other means, then surgery may be necessary.

4. If the patient is involved in any injury due to accidents, then an operation may be needed.

Sometimes your oncologist will remove some lymph nodes in the area to find out whether the cancer has spread. This is a big mistake, as your lymph nodes together with your lymphatic system are vital for removal of toxins and body immunity.

In the case of breast cancer, some surgeons remove the cancer by removing the whole breast, the good tissues together with the bad tissues. This is called mastectomy.

Or in the case of lung cancer, they may remove part of one lung or the entire lung on one side in an attempt to remove the cancer tumor.

Such surgeries for removals of breast and lungs are very major decisions, and must not be taken hastily. Once it is removed, you cannot replace it back.

My tip, consider other alternatives.

This site recommends the process of eradicating cancer the natural way and the building of the body systems as prevention against cancer growth.

Further Readings:

All patients who have an operation may develop a complication. Patients need to weigh the benefits of the surgical operation with the potential risks.

Know When Your Symptoms After Operation Are an Emergency and what is Not Normal During Your Recovery From the operation.

Wiki: Complications of abdominal surgical operation include bleeding, infection, post-surgical adhesions shock, and ileus, or more commonly Paralytic ileus (short-term paralysis of the bowel).

Nebraska Medical Center: Discomforts and Complications After Surgery

There are 12,000 deaths per year from unnecessary surgeries.

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