Oncology

Medical Oncology

Medical oncology is one of the major cancer treatment modalities. It uses systemic treatment approaches, such as Chemotherapy, Immunotherapy, Targeted Therapy and Hormonal Therapy to manage cancer effectively. These systemic therapies help destroy cancer cells present throughout the body. They are often administered in combination with other treatment modalities like surgery and radiation therapy for best clinical outcomes among the patients. We are working towards the prevention, screening, diagnosis and treatment of cancers.

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is a cancer treatment approach under medical oncology. It uses powerful drugs to find and destroy cancer cells throughout the body. Chemotherapy works by stopping or slowing the growth of body cells that divide and grow rapidly, which include cancer cells as well. However, chemotherapy can also damage rapidly dividing healthy cells, such as those in the lining of the mouth and intestine and hair follicles. This may cause a few mild to moderate side effects among patients during and for a short period after the treatment. Usually, these side effects wear off with time. However, in a few cases where the side effects are severe, oncologists recommend medications to manage them.

Surgical Oncology

Surgery is one of the main pillars of cancer treatment. In recent times, treatment approaches like minimally invasive surgeries and robotic surgeries have made surgery to be one of the most effective and powerful cancer management approaches. The surgical oncology team comprises skilled and experienced surgical oncologists who are capable of managing simple to complex primary and secondary cancers while giving equal importance towards preserving the quality of life among the patients. In a few cases, organ removal is necessary to prevent cancer from spreading and improving the survival chances. In these cases, organ reconstruction becomes necessary.

Surgery’s Role in Cancer Management

Surgery removes the tumor along with a small amount of surrounding healthy tissue known as margin. Surgery is used in various stages of cancer management:

• A surgery or biopsy is considered while diagnosing various cancer types. A biopsy helps oncologists in determining the type, stage and size along with various other parameters related to particular cancer.
• Surgery removes the tumor and tumor-affected lymph nodes and organs and prevents cancer from spreading to other regions.
• Surgery might also help reconstruct the body parts that were operated on to treat cancer.
• Surgery may also be performed as a part of palliative care to ease the cancer symptoms.

There are a number of factors that surgical oncologists consider, before recommending surgery for a cancer patient. The key factors include the type of cancer, size, stage of the tumor, location and grade along with general parameters such as the patient’s age, underlying medical conditions and the overall physical condition.

Surgery is often combined with other treatment modalities such as radiation therapy, chemotherapy or hormone therapy. This multimodal approach is proven to be more effective in managing cancer and preventing recurrence than single line treatment.