Cancer Surgery
Rely on the expertise of UNC Health Johnston when you need a surgical procedure as part of your cancer care.
Reasons for Cancer Surgery
Your doctors may use surgery to:
- Diagnose cancer – In a procedure called a biopsy, a doctor removes a tiny sample of tissue from your body to examine in a lab. Some biopsies use only a needle to take a few cells, but other biopsies involve minor surgery.
- Stage cancer – A surgeon removes your lymph nodes and other tissue to look at in a lab. The results help show how much cancer is in your body and how far it has spread.
- Treat cancer – A surgeon removes the tumor and sometimes the organ it’s in. You may also have chemotherapy or radiation to kill any remaining cancer cells.
Surgical Treatments
Choose UNC Health Johnston for surgical cancer treatments, such as:
- Colectomy – Removes the colon
- Cryosurgery – Freezes tumors to kill them
- Lobectomy – Removes part of the lung
- Lumpectomy – Takes out a cancerous lump from the breast
- Mastectomy – Removes the entire breast and may be done at the same time as breast reconstruction
- Prostatectomy – Takes the prostate gland out of the body
- Radiofrequency ablation – Sends electrical energy to tumors to heat and kill them
Surgeons who treat you at UNC Health Johnston have years of experience diagnosing and removing tumors, so you can trust us for the best possible outcome.
Minimally Invasive Approach
Whenever possible, your surgery will be minimally invasive. That means the surgeon will make small incisions or no incisions, and sometimes may use a da Vinci surgical robot. You’ll recover faster than after traditional surgery, which uses larger incisions.
