What is a Surgical Oncologist?  

A surgical oncologist is a cancer surgeon who first completes a five-year general surgery residency, then completes an additional three-year fellowship at one of the fourteen surgical oncology programs approved by the Society of Surgical Oncology, the governing body of this subspecialty. Our physicians are board certified in surgery. There is no board certification in the subspecialty of surgical oncology.

Surgical oncology fellowship training educates the surgeon in state-of-the-art care of common malignancies such as breast, lung, and colon as well as providing extensive exposure to complex and unusual cancer problems. Surgical oncology fellowship also includes significant experience in management of complex disease involving endocrine pancreas and in surgery for benign and malignant tumors of the thyroid, parathyroid, adrenal, and ovary. Our surgeons perform a number of advanced surgical procedures not readily available outside a large referral center.

Advanced Surgical Procedures

• Sentinel node biopsy for breast cancer and melanoma
• Lumpectomy for breast cancer
• Minimally invasive radioguided parathyroidectomy
• Sphincter preservation surgery without colostomy for rectal cancer
• Radiofrequency ablation and cryoablation of liver tumors
• Cryosurgery of liver tumors
• Hepatic artery infusion chemotherapy
• Hyperthermic chemoperfusion for melanoma
• Limb conservation surgery for soft tissue and bone tumors

An essential component of surgical oncology training is the coordination of multidisciplinary care between surgeons, medical oncologists, radiation therapists, and ancillary services to optimize patient outcome. One example of this approach is breast cancer where the combination of lumpectomy and radiation with adjuvant chemotherapy allows breast preservation without compromising the chance of cure. Another example is rectal cancer where accurate staging followed by preoperative radiation and chemotherapy allows sphincter preservation without permanent colostomy in the majority of patients.

Surgical oncology fellowship also provides experience in clinical research. These trials are approved by the National Cancer Institute and involve aggressive treatment options that are not otherwise readily available. The physicians at Cancer Surgery of Mobile, P.C. are actively involved in trials sponsored by the following national cooperative groups:

ACOSOG	American College of Surgeons Oncology Group
NSABP	National Surgical Adjuvant Breast Project
RTOG	Radiation Therapy Oncology Group
SBMT	Sunbelt Melanoma Trial
SWOG	Southwest Oncology Group

Last updated: 5/11/06

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