Treatment Options

Treatment depends on the type and stage of a patient's cancer. Options include surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy or a combination of these treatments.

Surgery

Surgery is the treatment of choice for early stage cancers and many later stage cancers. The tumor is removed, along with surrounding tissues, including but not limited to the lymph nodes, blood vessels, nerves, and muscles that are affected.  Stamford Hospital is known for expertise in minimally invasive surgical techniques for the treatment of cancer. For our patients, the potential benefits of minimally invasive procedures include less pain, less blood loss and less need for blood transfusions. Moreover, it can result in a shorter hospital stay, a quicker recovery and faster return to normal daily activities.

Chemotherapy

Progress has been made in the use of chemotherapy for cancer patients. Systemic chemotherapy is often given to advanced disease patients, and is being used more frequently as post-operative adjuvant therapy.

In some instances, radiation therapy is employed simultaneously with chemotherapy, or in sequence with it. The newer targeted therapies, given either with chemotherapy or as single agents, have added to the overall effectiveness of cancer treatment.

Radiation Therapy

Radiation therapy is often an important component of cancer treatment. It can serve as an alternative to surgery, be used in conjunction with chemotherapy, and can also be effective in relieving specific symptoms. Depending on the individual cancer case, patients may be suitable for Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT), a technology that makes it possible to vary the intensity of the beam as the patient is being treated, allowing for safer use of higher doses of radiation to the tumor and lower doses to surrounding healthy tissue.

Our program provides multidisciplinary care for advanced disease, as well as neoadjuvant chemotherapy and radiation to shrink large "unresectable" tumors so they can be surgically removed.

For more information or to make an appointment please call
1-877-233-WELL (9355).