Areas of Expertise

The Surgical Oncology Division has special expertise in the following areas:

Head and Neck Cancer Surgery
Head and neck cancers include cancers of the mouth, such as lip and tongue, the pharynx or throat and the larynx or voice box. Head and neck cancers are diagnosed in more than 70,000 Americans each year with men nearly three times more likely to develop the disease than women.

Early symptoms occur as a lump or nodule, numbness, swelling, hoarseness, sore throat or any difficulty moving the jaw or swallowing. Risk factors include smoking, excessive alcohol consumption and chewing smokeless tobacco. Doctors have found that people who smoke one pack of cigarettes a day are generally six times more likely than nonsmokers to get cancer of the head or neck. Those who also have two alcoholic drinks a day increase their risk 20-fold.

Breast Cancer Surgery
Each year in the United States, more than 190,000 new cases of breast cancer are reported. But, thanks to earlier detection and improved treatments, survival rates are beginning to increase. Mammography and other newly developed diagnostic techniques allow breast cancers to be detected before they cause any physical symptoms.

New molecular genetic findings also have allowed experts to identify those women at greatest risk for developing the disease. Additionally, oncologists now have the ability to tailor treatment to give individual patients the best chance of cure for their particular breast cancers. In fact, there are more than 1.6 million breast cancer survivors in the United States today due in part to better diagnosis, treatments, and increasing knowledge about breast cancer.

Sarcoma Surgery
The Division has extensive experience in the treatment of soft tissue sarcomas. Sarcomas are rare malignant tumors diagnosed in approximately 8,900 individuals each year in this country. The Surgical Oncology Division treats mostly extremity sarcomas and retroperitoneal sarcomas. These are treated in a multi-modality fashion with surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, depending on the site. Treatment of extremity sarcomas is undertaken using limb-sparing surgery. Abdominal sarcomas generally require complex multi-organ resections. Due to improved knowledge, more research and better technology, the survival rate climbs higher each year.

Gastrointestinal Cancers
Gastrointestinal cancers include cancer of the liver, pancreas, esophagus, small intestine, colon, rectum or anus. Each patient is evaluated by a team of professionals comprised of a medical oncologist, radiation oncologist, thoracic surgeon, gastroenterologist and a nutritionist. Depending on the type and stage of the cancer, various treatment options are available. These include surgery, radiation or chemotherapy or a combination of these.

Melanoma Surgery
Melanoma is a cancer of the pigment-producing cells of the skin. Melanoma is the most dangerous form of skin cancer, but if it is diagnosed and removed at an early stage, the cure rate is high. However, if it is diagnosed late, spread of the disease is more likely to occur.

Melanoma can appear anywhere on the skin surface. Melanoma can develop in a pre-existing mole, or arise on normal-appearing skin. Melanoma is suspected when a "mole" looks uneven in terms of its border, shape, or color.