Inoperable?

[andyoxon]

Does anyone know why primary, as opposed to metastatic, bowel cancer may be inoperable - with radiother/chemo the only option?  I know someone in this situation.

[Eccentrica Gallumbits]

Because the tumour might be so big, and so entwined into the non-cancerous tissue, particularly the blood supply, that there's no way to get it out without removing so much healthy tissue that the person can't survive.

[hellymedic]

What Kirst said.
Think of a tree whose roots get so entwined in a house's foundations, cables and pipes that the tree can't come out without demolishing the house...

[Paul]

My little brother's brain tumour is inoperable for the reasons above. It's quite difficult to come to terms with this. 'Inoperable' sounds like a death sentence (and it may be), but in my own experience the other treatments can be quite effective. Not curative, but we've had a lot more time than I thought we would when I first heard that word.

You okay?