Since surgery is used in the diagnostic, treatment and post-treatment phases of cancer management, your primary physician or oncologist might suggest surgery in a variety of circumstances. The many different types of surgery each have their own goals. In general, there are eight reasons why surgery might be recommended.
• To prevent or lower the risk of developing cancer Some benign diseases associated with a high risk of
developing cancer are commonly referred to as pre-cancerous conditions. To avoid the risk of cancer, therefore,
it may be beneficial to remove an organ affected by one of these diseases.
Ulcerative colitis, for example, is a benign inflammatory condition of the large bowel. Colon cancer develops
in about 40 percent of people whose large bowel has been affected by the disease for over 20 years. If a
younger person has ulcerative colitis affecting the entire colon, then it may be appropriate to remove the colon
before cancer appears.
Any operation performed to prevent cancer—commonly called prophylactic surgery—must be discussed in
detail by both you and your doctor. The risks of developing cancer have to be weighed carefully against the risk
of surgery itself and the permanent changes that surgery will cause. The situation may not always be clear and
options may be possible. In such cases, you, the surgeon and your oncologist have to study all the facts and
decide on a course of action that takes your preferences into account.
As an example, consider that several risk factors significantly increase the chance that some women will
develop breast cancer. A prophylactic mastectomy would prevent the breast cancer but would also result in the
