Surgical Oncology

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Surgical Oncology Overview

A surgical oncologist treats cancer by removing diseased tissue and often nearby lymph nodes, the parts of your immune system that act as filters, where cancer may spread.

Surgery is the oldest form of cancer treatment. It is often used in conjunction with medical oncology treatments—including chemotherapy, hormone therapy, and immunotherapy—and radiation oncology treatments.

Surgery can be used to help diagnose and determine the stage of a cancer. It can even prevent cancer from occurring in a person who’s at particular risk—for example, when doctors remove colon polyps that might become cancerous. Reconstructive surgery restores form or function after cancer treatment. Surgery is also used to relieve symptoms associated with disease; this is called palliative surgery.

Surgery for Seattle Cancer Care Alliance (SCCA) patients takes place at University of Washington Medical Center or Seattle Children’s Hospital, where surgeons use leading-edge techniques and state-of-the-art equipment to perform traditional, minimally invasive, and robot-assisted procedures. Our surgeons work with skilled teams that include anesthesiologists, nurses, and technologists to provide safe and effective surgeries with exceptional post-surgical follow-up care.