Found a Lump? The 3 Red Flags a Cancer Surgeon Checks First

A surgical oncologist explains the 3 science-backed red flags doctors use to decide whether a lump under your skin needs further evaluation — and why the overwhelming majority of lumps are completely harmless. 📬 DocStockton.com/Signup — The Surgeon's Brief: one email a month from Dr. Stockton with the medical updates worth knowing, practical takeaways, and a vote on what she covers next. No spam, unsubscribe anytime. https://docstockton.com/signup I'm Dr. Leah Stockton, a double board-certified surgeon specializing in surgical oncology in Idaho. I operate on tumors for a living. This video exists so you can walk into your doctor's office informed rather than scared. Nothing is for sale here. No product, no course, no supplement. Purely educational. ⚠️ EDUCATIONAL ONLY — NOT MEDICAL ADVICE While I am a doctor, I am not your doctor. If you have found a lump, please have it evaluated by your own physician. CHAPTERS 0:00 If you just found a lump, start here 0:28 Educational only — not medical advice 0:47 Lipomas vs. sarcomas: the actual numbers 1:17 What this video covers 1:37 Red flag 1: the 5 centimeter rule 2:14 Red flag 2: depth and the fascia 3:00 Red flag 3: growth rate 3:15 The "if it doesn't hurt it isn't cancer" myth 3:48 What the red flags do and don't tell you 4:26 When it's reassuring: the small, soft, mobile lump 4:52 When it's suspicious and when you must say no to office removal 5:43 Step 1: MRI before anyone picks up a scalpel 6:13 Step 2: core needle biopsy 6:48 The 3 categories your biopsy can come back as 7:14 ALT: the low-grade tumor most people have never heard of 8:34 If it is a sarcoma: staging 9:17 Surgery and clear margins 9:30 5-year survival by stage: 83%, 56%, 16% 10:05 Why amputation is almost never necessary today 10:40 Do I need radiation? 11:27 When chemotherapy enters the picture 11:58 Monitoring and your multidisciplinary team 12:21 What to do right now 12:48 Why this channel exists MORE FROM DR. STOCKTON Colon Cancer Is NOW The #1