Introduction

Cancer is emerging as a major public health problem all over the world. There are three main types of treatment modalities available for treating cancer - Surgery, Radiotherapy and Chemotherapy. The Surgical specialty dealing with cancer management is known as Surgical Oncology. Surgery is the oldest and most effective treatment available for cancer. Surgery plays a an important role in the cure of  majority of early cancers and in combination with chemotherapy and radiotherapy  surgery plays an important role in treating advanced cancers.  The   surgical  oncologist   who  treats cancer must be familiar with  the natural  history of individual cancers and also with the principles and potentialities of surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, gene therapy and other new treatment modalities. Overall the Surgical  oncologist  plays  a crucial  role in the  prevention, diagnosis,  treatment  and  rehabilitation  of   cancer  patient. 
Institute  Rotary  Cancer Hospital   was  started  as a  center of AIIMS  to improve  cancer  treatment  facilities in 1975 . In 1988 the  Unit  of  Surgical  oncology  was started after the appointment of a faculty member Dr N.K. Shukla . Basic Surgical   Oncology services  including  minor operative procedures and  endoscopies were introduced in 1988. A proposal to construct  a Surgical  Oncology  wing  was  approved and a 20 bedded Surgical Oncology wing with a major operation theater and  ICU was built in 1993 with the help of a partial financial contribution by Rotarian  Shri . Kanhayalal Punj. During the same period a  second  faculty member , Dr. S.V.S. Deo was appointed and  the unit became fully functional with the commencement of   major  surgical  procedures. The  final  expansion  of  IRCH to a 150 bedded tertiary care cancer center was approved in  1998  and currently  the  department of Surgical Oncology  has 46 in patient beds , 3 major operation theaters and a minor operation theater complex . The Unit of Surgical Oncology was upgraded to a Department of Surgical Oncology in 2001. 

The department of   Surgical   Oncology  offers both outpatient and inpatient services  for screening  , diagnosis  and  treatment  of  cancer patients . The department offers both   minor  and  major operation theater services  including  endoscopy  for  various kinds of cancer.  On an average 3,500 to 4000 minor and major surgical procedures are performed every year. In addition to patient care the  Surgical Oncology department is actively involved in teaching and research activities also .The department  offers advanced training  for surgical post graduates in the field of surgical oncology .