Cancer Surgery only has an average success rate of 10-15 %. Before you try it, you should learn the facts about it. In this post, you'll discover everything about cancer surgery and the devastating side effects.
Learn the questions you should ask your surgical oncologist before risking your life.
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The information is presented for educational purposes only and is not intended to diagnose, prescribe treat or cure cancer.This information is not intended as medical advice, please refer to a qualified healthcare professional.
What Cancer Surgery Is And What It's Used For
Cancer surgery is when you remove the tumor and surrounding tissues during an operation. It is often used to extract all or some of the cancerous tissues after diagnosis. You can also use it to diagnose cancer.
The surgical oncologist looks for the tumor location, its spread, and affect. Another function of surgery is to relieve side effects or fix the body’s appearance. Surgery happens in a doctor’s office, clinic, surgery center or hospital.
So let's explore how surgery is a tool in diagnosing cancer.
How the Doctors Use Biopsy to Diagnose Cancer
A biopsy diagnoses most cancers. During the biopsy, the surgeon makes a cut in the skin and removes some or all suspicious tissues. The most common surgical biopsies are incisional biopsy and extension biopsy.
A pathologist examines the removed tissue under a microscope
Incisional biopsy is the removal of a piece of the suspect area. Extensional biopsy is the removal of the entire suspicious area, such as a mole or lump. After a biopsy, a pathologist examines the removed tissue under a microscope.
A pathologist is a doctor who analyzes laboratory tests, cells, tissues, and organs. The surgeon or oncologist makes the diagnosis after receiving the pathology report. To decide the size of the tumor, the doctors do a staging surgery.
How Doctors Use Staging Surgery to Find The Size of The Tumor
Staging surgery finds the size of the tumor or where it has spread. The operation assists the doctor to decide which kind of treatment is best. Physical examination, biopsy, and laboratory results aid the surgery.
Furthermore, they can predict the patient’s prognosis and the chance of recovery. If the complete removal of a tumor is not possible then, the surgeon tries to remove as much as possible.
Surgical oncologist
Other treatments like radiation, chemotherapy shrink remaining cancer.
Purpose Of Surgery
- Relieve pain if a tumor presses on a nerve or spinal cord
- Unblock the bowel or intestines
- Stop bleeding in an area of high concentration of blood vessels
- Insert a feeding tube or tubes that deliver medications
- Prevent broken bones weakened by cancer or cancer treatment
Now you know how the oncologists diagnose cancer with the help of biopsy and staging surgery. But will happen before doing surgery?
What Will Happen Before Cancer Surgery
You will meet the surgeon or surgical team, who will review your medical record. They will then perform a physical examination and check the need for surgery.
During this time they give you the opportunity to ask about your surgery. I already prepared a document with questions that you can download below.
A surgeon examines the patient and checks the need for surgery.
Before surgery, you may need certain tests. For example, you may have a blood test to identify your blood type in case a blood transfusion. They may ask you to give a urine sample or have an electrocardiogram (EKG) or imaging scans.
I hope you got a good understanding of cancer surgery. In next section, I’m going to explore the terrible side effects of the operations. Pay extra close attention to this part as you will learn things that can save your life.
The Devastating Side Effects of Cancer Surgery
Complications during the surgery happen by the surgery itself, drugs used, and your health. The more complicated the surgery is, the greater the risk of side effects.
Minor operations like biopsies, usually have less risk than a bigger surgery. Pain at the area treated is the most common problem. Infections at the site and reactions to the drugs are also possible.
Some side effects are possible during and after surgery are:
Side Effects Of Surgery
- Bleeding
- Damage to Nearby Tissues
- Organ Damage
- Infections
- Blood Clots
- Drug Reactions
- Pain
- Slow recovery of Body Functions
Are you going to do surgery soon? Hold tight because now you’re going to find out the survival rate of cancer surgery.
The Poor Survival Rates Of Cancer Surgery
Even though cancer surgery is the least intrusive cancer treatment, it’s not risk-free. In 2010, The National Cancer Institute published a study on cancer surgery.
They examined the survival rate of surgery in stomach cancer patients. The 5-year survival rates by stage for stomach cancer treated with surgery was:
Cancer Stage | 5 Year Survival |
|---|---|
Stage IA | 71% |
Stage IB | 57% |
Stage IIA | 46% |
Stage IIB | 33% |
Stage IIIA | 20% |
Stage IIIB | 14% |
Stage IIIC | 9% |
Stage IV | 4% |
Source: 7th edition of the AJCC Staging Manual Stomach
As you can see, the survival rates are poor, especially at more advanced cancer stages. The most common forms of cancer requiring surgery are of the breast and the lung. G. Edward Griffin wrote the book "World Without Cancer."
According to him, only sixteen percent of breast cancer patients respond well to surgery. With lung cancer, the five-year survival rate after surgery is between five and ten percent. When cancer has spread to secondary locations, the use of surgery becomes useless.
G. Edward Griffin furthermore concludes about cancer surgery that:
...like the other therapies approved by orthodox medicine surgery removes only the tumor. It does not remove the cause.
If you have breast cancer you might want to think twice before doing mastectomy. Never do it before reading this.
Women That Do Mastectomies Don't Increase Their Survival Rate
Many women diagnosed with breast cancer undergo surgery as part of their treatment.
The Three Types Of Breast Surgery
- Breast-conserving surgery, such as lumpectomy or partial mastectomy
- Unilateral mastectomy, which removes the entire breast affected by cancer
- Double or bilateral mastectomy, which removes both the affected and unaffected breast.
The number of women who have a double mastectomy for breast cancer has tripled in 10 years. Women who opt in for a double mastectomy do not increase their chances of survival.
One study examined the use of bilateral mastectomy throughout California from 1998 through 2011.
Women that do mastectomy don't increase their survivor rate
Bilateral mastectomy didn't cause lower mortality than that achieved with breast-conserving surgery plus radiation.
Even surgeons don’t believe in what they do. You’re not going to guess what this professional surgeon had to tell about surgery.
Surgeon Ian Harris Confesses That Surgery Is Ineffective
Ian Harris told The Sydney Morning Herald that he had done surgery that doesn't work. He works at Liverpool, St George and Sutherland Hospitals and the University of NSW.
In the article, he told that he had done surgery for fractures that have already healed. Or removed implants that were not causing a problem.
Professor Harris has written a book called "Surgery, The Ultimate Placebo." In his book, he argues that many operations become accepted without proper study.
If a patient complains enough to a surgeon, one of the easiest ways of satisfying them is to operate. He concludes that the only benefit of some surgeries may be a placebo effect.
1 in 20 Cancer Patients Die One Month After Surgery
Harvard researchers found that almost 5 percent of cancer patients died after their operation. Of the 1.1 million patients diagnosed from 2004 to 2011, 53,500 died after surgery. Phew, I hope this read was not too disturbing for you. Let us recap what you read this far and the next steps you should take.
Summary
Today I talked about how surgery is a part of biopsy and staging surgery.
After that, I’ve revealed the disappointing survival rates of surgery.
5 Things To Do Before Cancer Surgery
1. Download the Cancer Surgery Questionnaire here and read it
2. Choose which questions to ask and prepare yourself for the next meeting
3. Ask your questions to the surgery oncologist
4. Read through the side effects of using surgery
5. View your oncologist's answers
Action Steps
So now that you have read this post, I hope you've seen that cancer surgery can't cure cancer. I have prepared some steps for you to take. Before you even want consider doing cancer surgery please do these things first:
So right now download the Cancer Surgery Questionnaire here. In this document, I’ve written some questions you can ask your oncologist.
Why do you have to do this? Because you want to find out the truth of surgery. If you don’t do this, then you might be up for a bad surprise.
Never take that risk. Get knowledgeable before taking any further step.
Did you download the questionnaire? Good!
Now pick the questions you want to ask and prepare yourself for the next check up.
Print the document so that you can have document in front of you.
Ask the questions to your surgery oncologist or create your own.
Notice how they answer the questions and if they avoid them, change their answers or become angry at you.
After evaluating their answers do you feel confident that they can cure your cancer?
If you have any questions or comments please leave them below.
It’s a good essay. I have thyroid cancer and now arrange the operation. I don’t know want to remove my thyroid and at least cut half. But the doctor said that it needs to remove all and others areas to avoid the spread. I don’t have choice. Give me some advice please. My tumor suddenly these few months grow big and affects to my throat. There’s I have no choice now. Thanks.