Stomach Cancer Surgery & Surgical Oncology Procedures
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Surgery for Stomach Cancer
For many patients with stomach cancer, surgery is the primary treatment. At Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA), you’ll find experienced surgeons who perform cancer- related surgical procedures. These highly skilled doctors, called surgical oncologists, perform procedures to remove:
- The cancerous portion of the stomach
- The entire stomach (if cancer has spread throughout it)
- Lymph nodes near the stomach
Additional procedures our skilled surgical oncology teams can perform include those to:
- Determine the extent of stomach cancer
- Remove very early stage stomach cancer
- Ablate small tumors in the liver
- Remove a portion of the liver if the cancer has spread to it
- Provide a greater level of comfort. For example, if a tumor blocks a passage into or out of the stomach and cannot be removed, a small tube can be inserted to create an opening from the esophagus to the stomach or the stomach to the small intestine. This enables you to continue to eat by normal means.
In some instances, chemotherapy may be given prior to surgery to help shrink a tumor. This is known as neoadjuvant therapy. Radiation therapy may also be used in combination with chemotherapy as a neoadjuvant therapy.
More often, patients receive additional treatment following surgery for stomach cancer (i.e., adjuvant therapy). Chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy help eliminate cancer cells that remain after stomach cancer surgery.
CTCA Surgical Oncologists: Experts in Stomach Cancer Surgery
When you visit one of our hospitals for a consultation, your medical oncologist or new patient evaluation physician will meet with you and discuss whether stomach cancer surgery is a viable treatment option. If surgery is the best course of action, you and your CTCA surgical oncology team will plan your treatment.
Your surgical oncologist will encourage you to ask questions and help make decisions about your treatment. And, he or she will explain surgical procedures in layman’s terms, so that you and your caregiver understand what you are about to experience and are better prepared for the recovery ahead.
A New Approach to Surgical Treatment for Stomach Cancer
One of the most advanced treatments we offer at our cancer hospital in the Midwest is hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemoperfusion. This breakthrough procedure is used to treat certain types of advanced stomach cancer. Your surgical oncology team first removes and debulks abdominal tumors. High doses of sterilized, heated chemotherapy are then delivered to the area where treatment is needed most—the abdomen. The chemotherapy destroys cancer cells that remain on the surface of nearby organs or intestines. Because it’s administered directly to the abdomen, it minimizes the rest of the body’s exposure to the chemotherapy. This may help reduce side effects.
Improving Your Quality of Life, Before & After Stomach Cancer Surgery
At CTCA, you will receive comprehensive and continual care and support from your entire cancer treatment team. We will ease anxieties you may have about undergoing surgery for stomach cancer and help you prepare for your procedure. More so, we’ll help you heal and recuperate after stomach cancer surgery with additional nutrition and metabolic support, medical treatments, pain management and other evidence-based therapies that can keep you comfortable, nourished and strong. And we regularly perform palliative procedures to ease symptoms such as pain and help you feel more comfortable.
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