Our doctors focus on curing and controlling cancers in patients. As part of comprehensive cancer management, drugs are directly targeted at cancer cells to eradicate them and prevent recurrence while minimizing side effects. The Oncology team in certain cases works with oncology surgeons and radiologists. Focus is on pain alleviation and improving the quality of life so that activities of daily living are smoothly performed.
Cryosurgery uses extreme cold produced by liquid nitrogen (or argon gas) in a localised area to destroy cancerous or abnormal tissue. Cryosurgery is used to treat external tumours using a cotton swab (skin lesions/skin tumours) or internal tumours (liver, bone) using a device called cryophobe. Damage to surrounding tissue is minimised by using a MRI or ultrasound. The frozen tissue thaws subsequently. It is used for treating early stage skin cancer, retinoblastoma, pre-cancerous skin/cervical growths.
A device known as thoracoscope which is a thin, flexible tube with a light and a small video camera on the end is used to look at the space inside the chest outside the lungs. The procedure of using this device through an incision near the lower end of the shoulder blade is called thoracoscopy. This procedure is done to find out the reasons for lung problems such as difficulty in breathing, check any abnormal area in an X-ray or CT scan, take biopsies, remove water around the lungs and to treat small lung cancers.
Biopsies for determining whether a particular tissue mass is malignant/cancerous and surgeries for cancerous growth removal are common oncology procedures. Surgery is also performed to determine the stage of cancer and the spread. Preventive surgeries are also performed sometimes. SIRT (also called radioembolization), TACE (Trans-arterial chemoembolization) and RFA (Radiofrequency ablation) are other procedures that are minimally invasive reduce complications arising from open surgery. They can also reduce toxicity compared to radiation therapy and chemotherapy.