What kinds of tumors do surgical oncologists take care of?
A. Breast cancer, tumors of the gastrointestinal tract (esophagus, stomach, small intestine, and large intestine including the rectum), the hepatobiliary system (pancreas, gall bladder, liver and bile ducts), the skin and soft tissue (melanoma, sarcoma), and rare tumors such as neuroendocrine carcinomas, carcinomatosis (spread inside the abdomen), and pseudomyxoma (jelly belly). Q. Why so many different areas and types? A.These tumors have been found to require multi-disciplinary care. That is, they need to have other treatments involved including chemotherapy and radiation therapy. A surgical oncologist is involved in the decision that a tumor be removed first, or shrunk with chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy, then removed. Some patients with tumors in the abdomen that do not have a diagnosis are often seen by a surgical oncologist in order to decide the best way to find out what it is and how to treat it. Q. It has been said that tumors spread once they are operated upon, is this
