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Surgery
Nearly every person with cancer will have some kind of surgery, whether to confirm a diagnosis, treat the cancer locally or learn whether more treatment is needed. Today's techniques are less invasive, and many procedures are done on an outpatient basis.
Diagnosis
Finding out what's there
To diagnose cancer, a physician typically performs a biopsy of a suspicious area, lump or mass. During a biopsy, which can be done on an outpatient basis, part or all of the suspected cancer is removed. The sample is sent to a pathology laboratory to determine whether cancer is present.
Information from the sample can also play an important role in treatment decisions. If cancer is found, additional tests determine its stage. Surgery may be part of that staging evaluation, part of treatment once you and your doctor agree on an overall plan, or both.
Treatment
One part of a coordinated plan
Successful cancer treatment often brings several approaches together. This is called multi-modality treatment, and it may include surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy and/or hormonal therapy.
Surgery is a local treatment. It treats only the cancer cells it removes. By the time cancer is diagnosed, cells may already have spread through the blood and lymph system. These cells, called micrometastases, can't always be found with current tests. Information gathered during surgery and from other tests helps your care team decide whether chemotherapy, radiation or hormonal therapy is also needed.