Cancer treatment can cause damage to your body that affects how it works or looks. In order to repair this damage, you may need a type of surgery called reconstructive surgery.

Reconstructive surgery is different from cosmetic surgery. You may have cosmetic surgery to look better or feel better about your appearance, but it is not needed for medical reasons. Reconstructive surgery is done for medical reasons. This type of surgery is usually covered by insurance, for both large and small procedures. 

Cancer surgery is an operation or procedure to remove a tumor from the body. Sometimes, some surrounding healthy tissue is also removed. It is the oldest kind of cancer treatment, and it still works well to treat many types of cancer today.

A doctor who specializes in cancer surgery is called a surgical oncologist. Cancer surgeries may also be done by other types of doctors who specialize in cancer or other types of surgery.

You might have surgery to remove a tumor, help your body work the way it used to, or relieve side effects. You may also need surgery to find out: