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Surgery

Surgical procedures are often important in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer.

Biopsy

A biopsy is a procedure where a surgeon removes a small sample of cells from a tumour. A laboratory can then analyse the sample to determine whether the tumour is cancerous.

Removing a tumour

Surgeons can operate to remove entire tumours. Sometimes a tumour is too big for the surgeon to operate straight away, so chemotherapy or radiotherapy are used to reduce the size of the tumour before surgery, which makes the operation easier. Surgery can also be followed by radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy to treat any cells that have spread from the tumour site.

Amputation and limb-preserving surgery

In some rare cases surgery or other treatments cannot remove or destroy the tumour completely, so a surgeon may need to amputate part or all of a limb to remove the cancerous tissue. The surgeon may be able to perform limb-preserving surgery, where the bone that is affected by cancer is removed, but the limb is saved from amputation because the gap is filled with a bone graft or special metal rod. This is a rare procedure for children and young people.


	I had what they call a limb-saving operation where they were trying to put in a false knee so I could keep my leg. After the operation, I could still feel everything there so it was fine.Pete, 19

For more information on all the ways surgery is used in diagnosis, treatment and after treatment, please visit the main Macmillan website.