
A cancer diagnosis is one of the scariest things you can experience as a patient. You face so many unknowns including the cause as well as your treatment options. At Evansville Surgical Associates, our team of surgeons is with you every step of the way, guiding and supporting you to provide the best cancer treatment possible.
Cancer is the result of cells growing uncontrollably in your body. This occurs on the genetic level due to problems during the division process, environmental factors such as tobacco smoke, or an inherited trait from your parents can also be attributed to an increase in the risk of cancer. Fortunately, there are a wide variety of surgical options to treat cancer to help you live your life to the fullest.
Cancer Surgery in Evansville, Indiana
Our board-certified team of surgeons is here to serve Evansville, IN, and the tri-state area. All of our surgeons are fellowship-trained in order to perform your cancer surgery. This helps them stay at the forefront of advances in oncology and provide you with the best experience possible when preparing, undergoing, and recovering from surgery.
Click here to meet our surgeons!
What Causes Cancer?
Cancer is caused by cells growing uncontrollably in the body. These abnormal cells can develop virtually anywhere within the body’s trillions of cells. When healthy, cells will naturally replicate, grow, die, and be replaced. Cancerous cells develop when this process breaks down, resulting in cancerous cells that may form lumps of tissue known as tumors.
Tumors can be classified into two different types:
- Malignant
- Benign
Malignant tumors can spread outward into nearby tissue or even further throughout the body. The process of creating new tumors is known as metastasis. However, metastasis doesn’t always result in tumors. For example leukemias, or blood cancers, don’t usually develop solid tumors in the body. Malignant tumors are at a higher risk of growing back after removal.
Benign tumors don’t undergo metastasis. Instead, they stay isolated in one place and often don’t grow back after cancer treatment. They can still grow to a large size and have a serious impact on your health. Brain tumors, for example, may only cause headaches early on. However, they can result in seizures and other issues if not removed immediately.
Cancer and Genetics
Cancer affects people on a genetic level. It changes genes by controlling how cells function, grow, and divide.
These changes can happen for different reasons, including:
- Errors during the division process
- Environmental factors such as tobacco smoke or UV rays
- Faulty genes inherited from parents
Age also plays an important role in cancer. The body usually gets rid of damaged cells before they have a chance to become cancerous. Unfortunately, it becomes harder for the body to do this as we age. This is one of the reasons why older people are at a higher risk of developing cancer than younger people.
To learn when cancer surgery may become necessary, click here!

Surgical Treatment Options for Cancer
Every cancer diagnosis is unique to the patient. Fortunately, there is a wide variety of surgical options available for cancer treatment. Understanding the different options can help you understand why your surgeon is recommending this treatment plan, as well as what to expect and plan for.
Diagnostic Surgery
Diagnostic surgery is important since it helps doctors establish whether you have any cancerous cells or not. This is established using a piece of sample tissue that’s examined in a lab. Not only does this testing let your healthcare team know if you have cancer cells, but it also lets them know what kind of cancer you have and what stage it’s at for the best form of treatment.
Preventative Surgery
Like the name implies, preventative surgery is designed to prevent cancer cells from forming into a tumor. During the procedure, your surgeon removes healthy tissue that has a high risk of developing cancer. A good example of this would be the removal of colon polyps. While harmless at this stage, they can later lead to colon cancer if not removed immediately.
Staging Surgery
Staging surgery is used to determine just how far cancer cells have metastasized throughout your body. A popular way of doing this is with minimally invasive surgery (laparoscopy). Your doctor will use a tiny tube with a camera on the end. This allows them to examine inside your body without creating large incisions that can take a long time to heal.
Click here to learn more about minimally invasive surgery!
Removal Surgery
Like preventative surgery, removal surgery is what it sounds like—the surgical removal of cancer. It’s the most prominent form of cancer surgery and is most effective when the tumor hasn’t spread to other parts of the body. Removal surgery may not be your only form of treatment with radiation and chemotherapy also being used for the best outcome possible.
Debulking Surgery
Sometimes a cancerous tumor can be treated without completely removing it. In these cases, debulking surgery will be used. This is ideal if an organ or the body as a whole could be harmed by removal surgery. Like other types of cancer surgery, other forms of treatment such as chemotherapy or radiation may be used afterward to fight the tumor’s growth.
Supportive Surgery
In some cases, the purpose of surgery isn’t to remove any cancer at all. Instead, it works with other forms of treatment to make them as effective as possible for patients. This could include the insertion of a catheter for chemotherapy treatment. Although the surgical insertion of the catheter doesn’t treat cancer, it allows the medicine to do its work much more easily.
Palliative Surgery
An estimated 80% of cancer patients experience multiple episodes of pain due to their condition. This often occurs in the advanced stages further decreasing patients’ quality of life. In cases like these, palliative surgery is used to ease their pain and make them more comfortable. This type of cancer-directed surgery may even prolong the patient’s life.
Cancer Procedures & Surgeries We Perform
Breast cancer | Parathyroid cancer | Gastric cancer |
Skin cancers | Esophageal cancer | Pancreatic cancer |
Lymph node biopsy for lymphoma | Colon cancer | Biliary cancer |
Sentinel node biopsy | Lung cancer | Liver cancer |
Thyroid cancer | Carcinoid tumors | Laparoscopic liver cyst fenestration |
Do you need to discuss your surgical options for cancer treatment? Call us at (812) 424-8231 or (800) 264-8231 to schedule your appointment!
Cancer is caused by abnormal cells growing inside of your body. They affect you on the genetic level and can be caused by problems during the division process, environmental factors such as UV rays, or inherited from your parents. Fortunately, a wide variety of cancer surgical treatments are available from diagnostic to palliative for your unique case to achieve the best outcomes.
Evansville Surgical Associates has been providing comprehensive and compassionate surgical care for over 50 years. Call us at (812) 424-8231 or (800) 264-8231. We are available from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm if you would like to schedule an appointment.