Treating Esophageal Cancer

Esophageal cancer is an aggressive cancer and the treatment for it could be quite complex. It involves a combination of chemotherapy, radiation, immunotherapy, and often surgery as well. The surgery is a long and complex operation. In the last few years at Moffitt Cancer Centre, we've developed a technique of doing this complex surgery robotically. Robotic esophagectomy is a complex surgery with multiple delicate steps. So it's important for the surgeon doing it to have a lot of experience doing it so that everything goes as smoothly as possible. And it's important for patients looking to have esophageal cancer surgery to seek surgical care in centers of excellence, places that do a lot of this complex robotic surgery. The major benefit of undergoing esophagus cancer surgery using robotic technology, minimally invasive surgery, is that it decreases the risk of complications and decreases the recovery time. Patients are able to leave the hospital sooner, have a better recovery, and are more likely to get back to their usual activity and enjoy their lives earlier. It is a long and complex surgery that needs not only an excellent gifted surgeon, but needs a whole team around them. Good surgical outcomes can only occur if you have a good surgeon that's surrounded by a good team of assistants in the operating room, of nurses on the floor, a physical therapist, occupational therapist, and the whole team needs to be experienced and to be focused on this type of surgery.