Surgery

Cancer surgery is generally not done at the Saskatchewan Cancer Agency but at the Saskatchewan Health Authority.

If surgery is part of your treatment plan, you will be referred to a hospital for your procedure. 

Surgery is often the first step in cancer treatment because it can be used to both diagnose and/or treat cancer. 

Surgery means having an operation to change or remove body tissue or organs. For certain types of cancer, surgery is the best treatment. The type of surgery depends on the type of cancer you have and where it is in your body. An operation may be done to:

• Find out what type of cancer you have (a biopsy)
• See if the cancer has spread
• Remove the cancer
• Get rid of the symptoms of cancer, such as pain

Surgery can be used to remove tumours confined to a small space. Surgery can also be used to reduce the size of large tumours so that follow-up treatment by radiation therapy or chemotherapy will be even more effective.