Many people with cancer are treated with surgery. Surgery works best for solid tumors that are contained in one area. It is a local treatment, meaning that it treats only the part of your body with the cancer. It is not used for leukemia (a type of blood cancer) or for cancers that have spread.

On average, cancer surgery patients are hospitalised for 2-7 days. Some surgeries mayrequire longer stay based on complexity of the case.

Conventional open surgery is used effectively for many cancers. Robotic and laparoscopic surgery are minimally invasive procedures that can be effective options for some cancers. Robotic and laparoscopic surgeries involve less blood loss and help in faster recovery.

Surgeons who undergo special training in oncology are Surgical Oncologists. They are super-specialists who have the skills to operate on cancers. Depending on the type of cancer, you may also need a site specialist e.g. head and neck onco-surgeon, breast onco-surgeon, gynecologic onco-surgeon, uro onco-surgeon etc.

Medical oncology is a field of treatment where cancer is treated using chemotherapy or other medications, such as targeted therapy or immunotherapy.

Medical treatment such as chemotherapy is used to treat many types of cancer. For some people, chemotherapy may be the only treatment. But most often, you will have chemotherapy and other cancer treatments.

Your treatment depends on the type of cancer you have, if it has spread and where, and if you have other health problems. It is best to consult a medical oncologist and a surgical oncologist to know your options.

Usually, patients undergoing medical therapies for cancer (e.g. chemotherapy, immunotherapy etc.) do not require hospital admission. These treatments can be given on a day-care basis when patients go back home the same day. In some cases, patients may be required to be admitted for a few days initially

Oncologists who have undergone special training on treating cancer through medication are called Medical Oncologists. Doctors treating blood cancers, such as leukemia, lymphoma, and myeloma are hemato-oncologists.

Radiation therapy is a cancer treatment that uses high doses of radiation to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors.

Over half of all cancer patients are treated with Radiation Therapy. A special type of Radiation Therapy called Brachytherapy is most often used to treat cancers of the head and neck, breast, cervix, prostate, and eye.

Generally, most patients are given Radiation Therapy on outpatient basis and do not need admission. You are usually required to go to the hospital daily (or 5 times a week) to receive your therapy. Typically, each Radiation Therapy session lasts less than 30 minutes.