Surgery, the oldest cancer treatment, is a mainstay in the cure and control of
most cancers. Indeed, for many patients, surgery, usually in combination with
chemotherapy, is the only hope for long-term survival or cure. But surgery can do more
than treat cancer; it can also diagnose cancer (diagnostic surgery), investigate cancer
further (staging surgery), debulk tumors (debulking surgery), relieve pain (palliative
surgery), prevent cancer from occurring in the first place (preventative surgery), restore
the appearance or function of the body after cancer surgery (reconstructive surgery) and
help medical staff to administer chemotherapy (access surgery). This chapter looks at
each of these purposes of cancer surgery in detail.
Keywords: Biopsy, Cancer, Endoscopy, Resection, Surgery.