Palliative surgery

Sometimes cancer cannot be cured with any type of treatment. At this point, palliative surgery may be performed. Palliative surgery is not intended to cure the person or even prolong life. Palliative surgery is done to improve the quality of a person's life and help the patient live as comfortably as possible.

Some of the uncomfortable symptoms that may be eased or relieved by this kind of surgery are:

• pain
• the inability to move or to function as usual and
• removing an obstruction that blocks a necessary body function (such as in the bowel or bladder)

Consult the UI Health Care Cancer Information Service for more information about this topic.

Last Reviewed 2005

Disclaimer: This content is reviewed periodically and is subject to change as new health information becomes available. The information provided is intended to be informative and educational and is not a replacement for professional medical evaluation, advice, diagnosis or treatment by a healthcare professional.

HIL File CANC3014.RF2 VRS# 6446 Data Version 7.0 Copyright 1999 McKesson Health Solutions LLC. All rights reserved.