At Intermountain Cancer Centers, patient care is a team effort. Our team members meet regularly with patients and their families to discuss patients’ diagnostic and treatment information in prospective multidisciplinary care conferences, meaning that each patient benefits from a wide range of expertise. Having representatives from many different disciplines involved in your care ensures that you will receive the best possible treatment for your specific needs.
During your treatment, you may interact with a variety of healthcare professionals. For most cancers, treatment is led by one or more primary physicians, including a medical oncologist, a surgical oncologist, and a radiation oncologist. Each of these physicians brings a defined set of expertise and techniques for treating cancer.
The physicians and other healthcare professionals on your treatment team are highly experienced in caring for patients with the type of cancer you have. Working together, your treatment team will develop a plan incorporating a combination of treatments based on national guidelines and clinical trials as appropriate—that will lead to the best possible outcome for you.
Our Surgical Oncologists
A Surgical Oncologist is a surgeon who specializes in the treatment of a variety of tumors within a particular body site. The surgeon excises or removes tumor(s) and nearby tissue, and can also perform certain types of biopsies to diagnose a cancer and its extent.
Our surgeons at Intermountain Cancer Centers are specialists with advanced training in their particular area of oncological expertise. They include:
- Dermatologists and dermatopathologists who have surgical training in melanoma and other skin cancers.
- Gastroenterologists and colorectal surgeons who have trained specifically in cancers of the bowels.
- General surgeons with a practice focus in breast cancers, colon cancers, melanomas, or other tumor sites.
- Gynecologic surgeons who have a practice focus on tumors of the female reproductive tract.
- Hepatobiliary-pancreatic surgeons who specialize in tumors of the liver, bile ducts, and pancreas.
- Neurosurgeons who specialize in tumors of the brain and nervous system.
- Orthopedic surgeons who have a practice focus on tumors of the bones and soft tissues.
- Otolaryngologists (ear, nose, and throat specialists, or ENTs) who specialize in surgeries for head and neck cancers.
- Plastic surgeons who have trained specifically in cancer reconstructive surgery or lymphedema treatment.
- Thoracic surgeons who specialize in tumors of the lungs, chest, and upper digestive tract.
- Urological surgeons who have specific training in cancers of the genitourinary system.
These surgeons are all board certified in their respective ABMS (American Board of Medical Specialties) surgical discipline. What gives them designation as cancer specialists is their high engagement in their oncological practice. They maintain significant volumes of cases pertaining to the cancer site, convene in regular tumor board discussion to consult with various experts, and participate in cancer research and clinical trials to enhance treatment opportunities for patients. In specialties where supplementary fellowships exist, such as cancer reconstruction, our surgeons achieve this training to gain greater insight and skills into their particular cancer field.
Intermountain Cancer Centers’ surgeons have experience in the multidisciplinary approach to the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of specific cancers. Plastic surgeons may be consulted for reconstructive surgeries during or after your treatment.