What laser treatment is
A laser is a very thin, focused beam of light which heats the tissue it is directed at. The laser beams burn away abnormal or cancerous cells. This is called laser ablation. It can destroy small areas of precancerous cells and shrink or destroy tumours. For advanced cancer it can relieve some cancer symptoms such as bleeding or blockage.
Surgeons can also use lasers instead of scalpels during surgery. An advantage of using a laser is that it seals off the blood vessels as it cuts so there is very little bleeding.
How you have laser treatment
Doctors use lasers to treat some types of early cancer on the surface of the body. These include cancer of the neck of the womb (cervical cancer), penile cancer, and cancers of the vagina and . It can also treat melanoma of the eye. You may have this type of laser treatment as an outpatient. You may need a or .
To reach internal cancers or cut away a cancer causing a blockage doctors put a tube inside your body and put the laser through the tube. For example they use an for cancers in the food pipe or stomach and a for lung cancers. You may need a local anaesthetic or general anaesthetic for this type of laser treatment.
Side effects of laser treatment
The side effects of laser treatment depend on the area of the body being treated. Your doctor or specialist nurse will give you information about the side effects of laser therapy for your type of cancer.
image: https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/prod_consump/groups/cr_ta/@inm/@gen/documents/image/cr_icon_pdf_bk_img.jpg
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