Soft tissue sarcoma is cancer that develops in the body's connective tissue like fat, muscle, nerves, tendons and joints.
The cancer occurs when cells grow abnormally and form tumors. Soft tissue sarcoma can start small, but spread throughout the body.
We have cancer specialists who are experts in the treatment of soft tissue sarcoma.
Treatments
The treatment of sarcoma depends on the size and location of the tumor, its grade, its subtype, whether the cancer has spread and the person's overall health.
In many cases, a team of specialists will work with the patient to determine the best treatment plan.
Surgery
Surgery is the common treatment for soft tissue sarcoma. The goal is to remove the tumor and about one inch of healthy tissue around it to ensure all the cancer is gone.
Larger sarcomas are often treated with a combination of surgery and radiation therapy.
Radiation or chemotherapy may be used before surgery to shrink the tumor, or during and after surgery to remove any remaining cancer cells.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy uses drugs to kill cancer cells. The medication will travel through the body and attack cancer cells that have spread from the initial melanoma site to the lymph nodes and other organs.
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Radiation Therapy
This treatment uses high-energy X-rays to kill cancer cells. A team of trained personnel determines if this type of treatment is right for your cancer. We use these radiation therapies for sarcoma:
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IMRT - Intensity Modulation Radiation Therapy (IMRT). This allows the radiation oncology team to:
- Customize a patient's treatment to the size, shape and location of the tumor.
- Minimize the amount of healthy tissue that is exposed to radiation.
- Treat tumors previously considered untreatable.
- External beam radiation - refers to radiation targeted at cancer cells from outside the body.
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