Surgery is the oldest form of cancer treatment. About 60% of cancer patients will undergo surgery, either by itself or in combination with other therapies. There are several types of cancer surgery

It simply involves removal of a cancerous tumor. It works best on localized cancers that haven't yet spread to other parts of the body, and is often followed by radiation therapy or chemotherapy to make sure all cancerous cells have been removed

Curative surgery types include

• Minimally invasive surgery
• Robotic surgery

It is used to prevent cancer from occurring. Many colon cancers can be prevented by removing precancerous polyps before they become malignant. A woman at very high risk for breast cancer may decide to have her breasts removed rather than worry about getting breast cancer later in life. You can remove several pre cancerous lesions of head and neck before they grow into cancer.

It returns the body to normal or near-normal appearance or function following cancer treatment. The most common restorative surgery is breast reconstruction after a mastectomy. Facial reconstruction after head and neck cancer surgery are also examples of reconstructive surgery.

In this procedure, the surgeon removes some or all of a tumor for examination to determine if the growth is cancerous. A biopsy can be done in several ways

• Fine Needle Aspiration (FNA): a needle is inserted into the tumor and material is drawn out for inspection under a microscope
• Incisional or excisional biopsy: the patient is put under local or regional anesthesia, which numbs the area, and a small incision is made in the skin. The surgeon either removes a piece of a large tumor (incisional), or the entire mass (excisional), for further examination. If the tumor is in the chest or abdomen, general anesthesia is used

• damage to organs in the body
• blood loss
• adverse reactions to medication
• pain or discomfort
• infections
• pneumonia
• blood loss or clots

Chemotherapy is the use of anti-cancer drugs to destroy cancer cells (including leukaemia, lymphoma and myeloma). Chemotherapy drugs can stop cancer cells dividing and reproducing. As the drugs are carried in the blood, they can reach cancer cells anywhere in the body. They are also taken up by some healthy cells. Healthy cells can repair the damage caused by chemotherapy, but cancer cells can't and eventually die. There are different groups of anti-cancer drugs that can be used.

Cancer drugs are often given in combinations called chemotherapy protocols. Chemotherapy is normally given in a hospital's outpatient department, or as an "inpatient" in a hospital. The choice of where you get chemotherapy depends on which drug or drugs you are getting. Most patients receive their treatment as an "outpatient" and are not hospitalized. Sometimes, a patient starting chemotherapy may need to stay at the hospital for a short time. The most common ways chemotherapy can be given are into a vein (intravenous chemotherapy) but in some selective cancers as tablets or capsules (oral chemotherapy). Chemotherapy may also sometimes be given through the PICC line or CHEMOPORT.

• Nausea and vomiting
• Fatigue
• Hair loss
• Anemia
• Infections and Low WBC count
• Soreness of mouth and throat problems
• Diarrhea and constipation