Surgical oncology is a cancer care field that focuses on using surgery to diagnose, stage and treat cancer. Surgical oncologists may also perform palliative surgeries to help control pain, increase a patient’s comfort level and manage cancer-related symptoms and side effects.
Whether a patient is a candidate for surgery depends on factors such as the type, size, location, grade and stage of the tumor, as well as issues related to the patient’s health, including age, physical fitness and other medical conditions.

• Many patients may have cancer surgery combined with other treatments, such as chemotherapy, radiation therapy and/or hormone therapy. Nonsurgical treatments may be administered before surgery (neoadjuvant therapy) or after surgery (adjuvant therapy) to help prevent cancer growth, metastasis or recurrence.
• Depending on the type of cancer, the size of the tumor and its location, surgery may be performed using minimally invasive techniques, such as laparoscopy or robotic surgery. Other conditions may require open surgeries, which are more invasive and have larger incisions. A surgical oncologist may work with other doctors and clinicians to help reduce pain and other side effects and speed recovery from surgery. Advanced Surgical Recovery Program (ASURE)
• The Advanced Surgical Recovery Program (ASURE) is designed to help patients recover from surgery more quickly and with fewer complications. ASURE is intended to improve surgical outcomes and enhance the patient experience before, during and after surgery, while also reducing patients’ overall hospital stay.
• The program is delivered by a multidisciplinary team of surgeons, anesthesiologists, nutritionists, mind-body therapists, nurses and other clinicians working collaboratively to implement evidenced-informed protocols, all under one roof. ASURE combines post-surgical rehabilitation with pre-habilitation, by preparing patients before surgery.
• Typically, ASURE protocols involve nutrition, pain management with non-narcotic pain relievers and physical activity within 24 hours after surgery.
• Compared with traditional care, the ASURE program is designed to improve patients’ quality of life immediately after surgery and in the long term. The use of enhanced recovery methods like those used in ASURE has been shown to reduce fatigue, post-surgery complications and the amount of narcotics used in post-surgical care, while helping patients resume their everyday activities more quickly.

Radiation oncologists work closely with medical oncologists, surgeons and other doctors to coordinate the most appropriate care for you.
Radiation therapy uses carefully targeted and regulated doses of high-energy radiation to kill cancer cells. Radiation causes some cancer cells to die immediately after treatment, but most die or become incapacitated as a result of the radiation-induced damage to the cancer cell's chromosomes and DNA.