Gastrointestinal Cancer
If you're diagnosed with a gastrointestinal (GI) cancer, you want a care team that will guide you through every stage of your treatment journey. From the initial diagnosis through recovery, the cancer specialists at St. Peter's Health Partners are by your side.
Gastrointestinal Cancer Care at St. Peter's Health System: Why Choose Us?
Highlights of our cancer care program include:
- National recognition: St. Peter's Hospital in Albany is a U.S. News & World Report High-Performing Hospital for Adult Gastroenterology and GI Surgery. This recognition means we treat a high number of patients and deliver exceptional patient care.
- Care coordination: Physicians, nurses and social workers work together to deliver complete care. From treatments to support services, you get everything you need from one trusted source.
- Expert team: Our team includes board-certified, fellowship-trained hepatobiliary surgeons and colon and rectal surgeons. These highly skilled experts meet regularly with your oncologists to deliver customized treatment for all GI cancers. We work together to get you the best possible outcome.
- Innovative treatments: We excel at performing endoscopic procedures for GI cancers. This minimally invasive technique can help us diagnose, stage and treat early-stage cancer without major surgery.
What Is Gastrointestinal Cancer?
Gastrointestinal cancers affect the gastrointestinal tract and digestive system. Our cancer specialists treat the full range of GI malignancies, including liver, pancreatic, esophageal, gallbladder, bile duct and colorectal cancer.
GI cancers don't usually produce symptoms in their early stages. However, talk to your doctor if you experience:
- Bloating or abdominal pain
- Jaundice (yellow skin and eyes)
- Persistent nausea, vomiting or indigestion
- Unexplained weight loss
Gastrointestinal Cancer Screening
If you're at an increased risk for GI or digestive cancer, such as pancreatic, liver or esophageal cancer, your doctor may recommend periodic blood tests or imaging exams. A colonoscopy is the most common screening test for colorectal cancer.
Gastrointestinal Cancer Diagnosis
If a physical exam, blood test or imaging exam indicates cancer, we recommend a biopsy to get more information. Our oncologists work with gastroenterologists and interventional endoscopists at the Advanced Endoscopic and Hepatobiliary Center. Endoscopy is a minimally invasive procedure. We use it to detect, diagnose and even treat early-stage GI cancers.
We offer:
- Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP): We use the innovative SpyGlass™ DS Direct Visualization System to perform high-resolution imaging of the pancreas and bile ducts. St. Peter's Hospital was the first in the Capital Region to offer this advanced technology.
- Radiofrequency ablation (RFA): RFA uses endoscopy to deliver quick bursts of heat to remove abnormal, precancerous cells caused by Barrett's esophagus. This minimally invasive procedure may help prevent esophageal cancer from developing.
Pancreatic and Liver Cancer Treatment
Our goal is to treat cancer while giving you the best possible quality of life. Depending on the type and stage of cancer, we may recommend curative or palliative therapies.
Surgery, combined with radiation therapy and chemotherapy, is the most common approach for treating GI cancers. We offer a range of leading-edge radiation therapies:
- Intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT): We deliver 3D-imaging guided radiation to the tumor from multiple angles, reducing exposure to nearby tissues.
- Stereotactic body radiation treatment (SBRT): We treat the precise area of the tumor with high doses of radiation. SBRT often requires fewer treatments than traditional external beam radiation therapy.
Surgery for GI cancer
Surgery may cure cancer by removing the tumors. Surgery can also be palliative, reducing pain or restoring as much function as possible.
We offer minimally invasive procedures for GI cancers, including endoscopic, laparoscopic and robotic-assisted surgery. Our team can remove some early-stage tumors in the digestive tract without open surgery. For more advanced cancers, our surgeons excel at performing complex resections and reconstructions of the gastrointestinal tract.