How the surgery is carried out

The surgeon will aim to obtain clear margins. This means that a border of healthy tissue, with no cancer cells, should have been taken away from around the tumour. The tissue removed will be examined under the microscope to make sure that this has been done. This is important because the clear margin means it's much less likely that any cancer cells are left behind.

Your surgeon will usually also remove some of the lymph nodes| (lymph glands) nearest to the tumour, because this is a common place for cancer cells to spread to. A doctor who specialises in diagnosing disease by examining tissues under a microscope (a pathologist) will judge whether the lymph nodes contain cancer cells. If they do, there may be an increased risk of the cancer coming back in the future, and you may need to have treatment such as radiotherapy|, chemotherapy| or hormonal therapy| after your operation.

Keyhole surgery

In some situations it may be possible to have keyhole surgery (also called laparoscopic surgery) to remove some or all of a tumour from a part of the body. In this type of surgery, small openings are made instead of one larger cut (incision). The surgeon uses a special instrument called a laparoscope to work inside the body and remove the tumour through a small cut in the skin. The laparoscope is a thin tube with an eyepiece at one end and a light and magnifying glass at the other end.

The main advantage of keyhole surgery is that it leaves a much smaller wound, and this means that recovery time is shorter. Sometimes people who are not fit enough to have an operation may be able to have keyhole surgery.

Keyhole surgery can produce equally good results as conventional surgery. However, it needs to be carried out by surgeons with specialist training and experience in using laparoscopic techniques. So, if it is suitable for you and you choose to have this type of surgery, you may need to travel to another hospital to have it.