Surgical oncologist

An oncologist-surgeon is a doctor who operates on malignant tumors.

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Who is a surgical oncologist?

An oncologist-surgeon studies surgical methods of cancer treatment. Today, almost all types of cancer are treated. Oncology pays great attention to radiation methods of detecting malignant tumors, as well as ultrasound.

An oncologist-surgeon is a very complex medical specialty, because cancer has many faces and resists therapy, it is really very difficult to cure, it quickly metastasizes. People continue to die from hard-to-treat forms of cancer, and some cannot be saved only because they give up early.

A decisive person with golden hands, compassionate and sensitive can work as an oncologist-surgeon. He carries out diagnostics, the operation itself and rehabilitation of cancer patients. The places of work of oncologist-surgeons are scientific oncology institutes and private oncology centers. Oncologist-surgeons maintain their skills, introduce new technologies into practice, for example, a radio knife, laparoscopic operations, embolization of tumor vessels, perfusion of tumor vessels, hyperthermia.

The insidiousness of cancer is in its rapid spread. If you have discovered pathological discharge from the lungs (for example, blood in sputum), vagina, intestinal obstruction or jaundice that has come from an unknown source, consult an oncologist without delay. If you consult a doctor at the first stage of cancer, in 85% of cases you can live another 15 years. If you have been treating pneumonia or colitis for a long time, you need to ask your local doctor or a specialist for a referral to an oncologist. It is important to quickly diagnose the disease and skillfully combine surgical treatment methods with hormone therapy, chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Hormone therapy is especially effective in breast cancer. Radiation therapy is carried out when the cancer has just begun to develop.

Factors in the development of cancer:

• Heredity.
• Lifestyle features, smoking, alcoholism.
• Radioactive exposure.
• Effects of drugs.

Complications associated with a decline in immunity often arise during cancer treatment. These include viral infections, fungi, and manifestations of intoxication: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, hair loss, depression. Oncologists fight all of this.

What tests should be taken when visiting an oncologist-surgeon?

The oncologist-surgeon first conducts a primary examination of the patient, collects anamnesis, clarifies complaints, palpates organs and surrounding lymph nodes. Then examinations are prescribed: X-ray, ultrasound, blood tests for tumor markers, general blood test. Even a general blood test can already suspect something is wrong. The number of leukocytes, the erythrocyte sedimentation reaction increases sharply, and hemoglobin decreases. If the results alert the doctor, he asks the patient to take a biochemical blood test.

A blood test for tumor markers can tell you about the stage of development and size of a tumor. These are specific proteins whose levels increase in cancer patients. Everyone has these proteins in some quantity. The value of a blood test for tumor markers is in the dynamics of the growth of these proteins.

What diagnostic methods does a surgical oncologist use?

An oncologist-surgeon may prescribe you a CT scan, MRI, ultrasound, tissue biopsy, mammogram. Women with a certain genetic marker are at greater risk of developing breast cancer than those who do not have such a marker.

Two out of seven men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during their lifetime. Transrectal ultrasound-guided biopsy is used to diagnose this most common cancer among the male population.

What does a surgical oncologist do?

An oncologist-surgeon deals with surgical methods of treating tumors, benign and malignant: leukemia, melanoma, myeloma, sarcoma, tumors of the mediastinum, central nervous system, female genital organs, mammary glands, gastrointestinal organs, bones and other organs and parts of the body. He treats the patient in cooperation with a chemotherapist and a psychotherapist. The latter's help is needed during the illness not only by the cancer patient himself, but also by his environment. An oncologist does not treat - he fights for every year of life together with the patient. He tries to preserve the function of the organ affected by the tumor.

In addition to the surgical method of fighting tumors, in the last 10-15 years doctors all over the world, and especially in developed countries: the USA, Israel, Germany, have been using alternative methods of cancer treatment. Please do not confuse them with healing and quackery. All these methods are based on the principles of evidence-based medicine. Here they are:

1. Radio knife - with the help of electric current of a frequency safe for the body, the tumor is excised, metastases are destroyed. The knife works in welding, coagulation or cutting modes. The uniqueness of the method is in the bloodlessness of the operation. Sutures and staples are not used. Wounds heal very quickly, and the tumor can be removed by this method in less than an hour. The radio knife is used in urology, ophthalmology, in operations on the stomach and intestines. The development has attracted interest in the USA and Russia.
2. Successful attempts to use stem cells in the treatment of some types of cancer continue. They are capable of restoring the structure of damaged tissues. Stem cells are the same ones from which all organs are formed in the mother's womb.
3. Bone marrow transplant.
4. Burning out the tumor with ultrasound.

European clinics certainly have more advanced equipment and better service. Those who can, are treated there. But in Ukraine, at the Cancer Institute, you can also get an oncologist's consultation, undergo chemotherapy, successfully remove a tumor and live a couple of decades after that. We have good specialists. Private oncology clinics are also opening.

First, the doctor conducts a clinical examination. He must have sensitive fingers to detect the tumor already during the initial examination. Then the oncologist takes a scraping or biopsy.

If you have skin ulcers and cracks that don't heal for a long time, spots on your skin that weren't there before, a mole has darkened, a cough that doesn't go away for a long time, you have difficulty swallowing food, you have constipation or diarrhea, sudden weight loss, back pain, visit an oncologist. To avoid being caught by surprise by cancer, undergo regular check-ups: mammography, ultrasound, gastroscopy.

An oncologist has a specialization: for example, there are oncogynecologists, onco-urologists, onco-dermatologists, onco-pulmonologists, onco-proctologists, onco-gastrologists.

Oncological diseases are the leading cause of death among people. Every 4th person can get cancer. A benign tumor differs from a malignant tumor by its slow growth, and it never metastasizes. When a benign tumor grows, the surrounding healthy tissues are not destroyed. When a malignant process affects the body, everything happens the other way around. There are several hundred types of cancer! The most common are lung, intestinal, and female genital cancer.

What diseases does a surgical oncologist treat?

An oncologist-surgeon treats tumors by means of a surgical operation. Modern life is full of harmful factors, which lead to the fact that cancer is a little less common than ARVI.

An oncologist-surgeon has knowledge of general medicine and knows the laws by which uncontrolled cell division occurs in the body.

Why do tumors occur? Most often, the cause is constant trauma to a body part, compression, or exposure to ionizing radiation. Benign tumors are not dangerous, they can be cured at any stage of development by simple removal. The most common among them are uterine fibroids, adenoma, and lipoma.

A malignant tumor, unlike a benign tumor, is always accompanied by mutation processes in cells. Mutations are known to be changes in DNA that lead to disruption of cell division. Breast, testicular, and rectal cancer can be detected by the patient himself. You should also pay attention to "bad" moles, which most often affect fair-skinned people with blue and gray eyes. "Suspicious" moles have an uneven color. Such a mole bleeds and itches. Skin cancer accounts for 5% of oncology cases. A mole can be easily removed with an electric coagulator, avoiding the development of formidable complications. Take care of yourself from a young age. Drops of water act like lenses, so make it a rule - when you get out of the water - dry yourself dry. Avoid tanning at midday. It is also harmful to visit a solarium too often.

Benign tumors exist for years, surrounded by a shell. Malignant tumors penetrate the bloodstream into other organs, which leads to death. They simply stop working. It is at the stage of metastasis that the large one feels very weak, loses weight. The tumor grows and eventually collapses, while toxic decay products are released into the blood.

90% of cancer is the result of bad habits: smoking, poor nutrition. Most tumors begin to develop by the age of 20. Weight loss, fatigue, pain, yellowing of the skin, itching, chronic constipation, blood in the urine, bleeding from the genital tract, lumps in the chest, difficulty breathing, coughing - these are the main symptoms of cancer of the corresponding organs.

Every woman has experienced discomfort and swelling of the mammary glands on certain days of the menstrual cycle. Mastopathy affects 9 out of 10 women. It is a provoking factor for breast cancer.

Advice from a surgical oncologist

The basics of cancer prevention are very simple: do not abuse smoking, do sports, regularly visit a gynecologist and urologist for preventive examinations. It is necessary to reduce the amount of fat consumed with food. Fresh vegetables and fruits contain anticarcinogens. Eat as much of them as possible to avoid becoming a victim of this insidious disease. Give up alcohol. Better yet, completely. It is of no use. Alcohol is poison for the body! It especially increases the risk of stomach and liver cancer.

Vegetarians are less likely to get cancer because they do not fry meat (fried foods contain a lot of carcinogens) and do not eat sausages, salami and other smoked foods.

Weakness, loss of appetite and weight indicate the need to urgently undergo a full examination. If you have moles with uneven edges, they itch and peel, hair does not grow on them, there is inflammation, or they bleed, then such moles are subject to removal after examination by an oncologist.

Lack of appetite, nausea and pale skin are typical of stomach cancer. Bloody discharge during bowel movements and constipation are typical of rectal cancer. Without wasting a day, contact a specialist if you have discovered one or more of the listed symptoms. But do not panic - 80% of tumors are benign. And malignant tumors today are far from a death sentence. An oncologist-surgeon will help to detect cancer at an early stage and choose the best treatment method.