Cancer Surgery

St. Peter's Health Partners offers whole-person care before, during and after cancer surgery. Highly skilled surgeons who excel in minimally invasive procedures make us the Capital Region's leader in surgical oncology.  

Surgical Oncology Care at St. Peter's Health Partners: Why Choose Us?

If you're diagnosed with cancer, surgery will likely be part of your treatment plan. Our integrated program offers people in Albany, Troy and the surrounding areas several benefits, including:

• Expert team: Many of our surgeons have additional fellowship training in breast surgery, thoracic surgery, hepatobiliary surgery, and colon and rectal surgery. You receive care from highly skilled, experienced specialists.
• Innovative treatments: We excel in minimally invasive surgical techniques, including robotic-assisted procedures and breast-conserving surgery. These procedures can help shorten your recovery time and get you back to living your life.
• Quality care: St. Peter's Hospital has been named a U.S. News & World Report High-Performing Hospital for Colon Cancer Surgery since 2016 and Lung Cancer Surgery since 2017. In addition, St. Peter's Hospital and Samaritan Hospital are accredited as Centers of Excellence in Minimally Invasive Surgery by the Surgical Review Corporation (SRC).

Types of Cancer Surgery We Offer

Surgeons work with radiation oncologists, medical oncologists and other providers to ensure you get a complete, customized care plan. You may have cancer surgery at different points throughout your treatment:

• Diagnostic: We remove a tissue sample for testing (biopsy).
• Curative: We remove cancer that hasn't spread to other areas of the body. In many cases, surgery may be the only cancer treatment you need.
• Debulking: You may have this surgery before chemotherapy or radiation therapy. We remove as much of the tumor as possible so that the other treatments are more effective.
• Palliative: This surgery helps alleviate pain or side effects from advanced cancer.
• Reconstructive: We can reshape or restore areas of the body affected by cancer or treatment.

Minimally invasive cancer surgery

Whenever possible, we perform minimally invasive surgery. This surgical technique uses tiny incisions — or no incision at all — to remove tumors. Benefits of minimally invasive procedures include:

• Faster recovery time
• Improved outcomes
• Less pain after surgery
• Shorter hospital stays

Endoscopic and laparoscopic surgery

Endoscopy or laparoscopy can often remove small or early-stage tumors. We insert a thin, flexible tube equipped with a light and video camera (endoscope or laparoscope) through a tiny incision or a natural opening in the body. We then thread small surgical tools to the site of the tumor.

St. Peter's Hospital features the Advanced Endoscopy & Hepatobiliary Center. Fellowship-trained interventional endoscopists perform endoscopic procedures for many types of gastrointestinal cancer.

Robotic surgery

During robotic-assisted surgery, the surgeon uses multiple robotic arms and a 3D video monitor to perform the surgery. This technique offers exceptional precision and accuracy, in addition to less downtime for the patient. We use the da Vinci® XI Surgical System to treat pancreatic, urologic, gynecologic, and head and neck cancers.

Video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS)

Our team has extensive experience using video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) to treat early-stage lung cancers. Our highly skilled thoracic surgeons insert a thoracoscope through a small incision in the chest wall to remove small tumors or nodules from the lungs or esophagus.

Oncoplastic surgery for breast cancer

Board-certified, fellowship-trained breast surgeons specialize in oncoplastic surgery for breast cancer. This technique combines tumor removal and breast reconstruction for improved clinical and aesthetic outcomes. We offer breast-conserving surgery as an alternative to a traditional mastectomy. During this procedure, we remove the breast tumor and reconstruct the breast using your own tissue.

Recovery After Cancer Surgery

Whole-person healing means taking care of you during and after cancer treatment. We offer a wide range of support services to help improve your physical and emotional well-being as you recover from surgery.

Our services include:

• Home health care
• Hospice and palliative care
• Integrative wellness
• Lymphedema management
• Physical therapy
• Spiritual care
• Support groups