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To make an appointment
617-724-4093
Surgical Oncologists have undergone additional
specialty training in oncology, and
offer the highest degree of specialization
and expertise. Colon and rectal cancer
surgery is generally considered complex
surgery and published data have demonstrated
that hospitals and surgeons with the
highest volume experience with specific
operations have the lowest complication
and death rates. Recognizing the relationship
between frequency of performing an operation
and the quality of outcomes, each surgeon
in the Division of Surgical Oncology
focuses his or her clinical practice
on the management of one or two diseases.
Patients with newly diagnosed colon and
rectal cancers are evaluated by surgical
oncologists working in the context of
a comprehensive multidisciplinary team
in the Tucker
Gosnell Center for Gastrointestinal Cancers.
Patients with colon or rectal cancer are
evaluated by a team, allowing them to
meet experts in colon and rectal cancer
surgery, medical oncology, radiation oncology,
diagnostic imaging, and gastroenterology
in one multidisciplinary clinic visit.
This provides patients with well-coordinated,
state-of-the-art cancer staging and treatment
planning.
In patients with rectal cancer, emphasis
is placed on:
- Accurate preoperative staging
- Nerve-sparing surgery
- Total mesorectal excision (TME)
- Sphincter preservation
Genetic counseling is offered through the
Center
for Cancer Risk Analysis - Gastrointestinal
Cancer Genetics Program to assess
hereditary risk in young patients and
patients with strong family histories
of colon or rectal cancer.
Treatment recommendations for patients
with advanced, recurrent or metastatic
disease are drawn from a broad array of
options that require close coordination
between surgery, radiation therapy and
medical oncology. For example, the complex
treatment of recurrent rectal cancer may
involve:
Treatment of metastatic disease may require
a combination of liver surgery, placement
of a hepatic artery infusion pump for
the administration of regional chemotherapy,
radiofrequency ablation, and systemic
chemotherapy.
Clinical trials to assess new treatment regimens are offered
to patients. In addition, the Surgical Oncology Research Laboratories
maintain a robust basic science research program to develop
new and effective therapies for patients with metastatic colon
and rectal cancer. A wide variety of educational and support
services are available for patients and their families as
they go through diagnosis, treatment and recovery.
Surgical Oncology
Team
Surgeons in the Division of Surgical
Oncology who specialize in colon or rectal
cancer surgery are faculty members of
Harvard Medical School and regularly teach
other physicians in Continuing Medical
Education courses. Specialists in colon
or rectal cancer surgery include:
James
C. Cusack, Jr., MD
Kenneth Tanabe, MD
Sam Yoon, MD
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