How is cancer surgery traditionally performed?

Traditionally, the primary purpose of cancer surgery is to cure your cancer by removing all of it from your body. The surgeon usually does this by cutting into your body and removing the cancer along with some surrounding healthy tissue to ensure that all of the cancer is removed.

Your surgeon may also remove some lymph nodes in the area to determine whether the cancer has spread. This helps your doctor assess the chance of your being cured, as well as the need for further treatment.

In the case of breast cancer surgery, your doctor may remove the cancer by removing the whole breast (mastectomy) or by removing only the portion of your breast that contains the cancer and some of the surrounding tissue (lumpectomy).

In the case of lung cancer surgery, your doctor may remove part of one lung (lobectomy) or the entire lung (pneumonectomy) in an attempt to ensure that all the cancer has been removed.

In both of these examples, the surgeon may also remove some lymph nodes in the area at the time of the operation to see if the cancer has spread.