Ped onc

[DrJ2B]

Hey all!

I am really interested in going into pediatric oncology. I am applying to medical schools now and I hope to go to UPenn Medical School. Would you please give me some information about pediatric oncology projects? Are there any combined programs? From what I have gathered, I would do a peds residency then an oncology/hematology residency? Is onc/hem different from radiation oncology? Is there a distinction in the oncology programs? Which programs are best for pediatric oncology? Any websites I can see that will help me think about this. I really do not think I will change my mind about going into ped onc. I have dreamt about doing it for a long time. I have a special interest in it because a good friend of mine was diagnosed with cancer when she was in HS. I would really appreciate any information. Thank you all in advance.

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[stephew]

Ive split this thread since it is a different topic than that it was linked to.

 

[DrJ2B]

BUMP!

 

[music710]

sorry that no one has responsed to your questions yet... many of us are now heavily into traveling for interviews, and are either 1) not home, or 2) exhausted.

let me take a crack at your questions. although I think they are better suited for the pediatrics forum. many people there would have similar interests as you, and would know more information. in fact, there are very few pediatric radiation oncologists, largely because the number of patients (ped cancer patients who need radiation therapy) is so small. so the vast majority of radiation oncologists treat adults.

ped onc projects: do you mean research projects? if so, there are millions of them, at any medical school. you can do lab research, you can also do clinical research -- for example, maybe studying a new chemo drug in patients. my advice is during your first semester in medical school, find ped oncologists who do research at your school. talk to a lot of them, so you get a sense of what kinds of research opportunities are available to you. when something sounds interesting to you, ask if you can work as a research assistant. usually people won't turn you down.

combined programs? not sure what you mean here. do you mean combined pediatrics residency with hem/onc fellowship? I don't know this information, but I would doubt that such thing exists.

hem/onc different than rad onc: yes. hem/onc -- give chemo to cancer patients. rad onc -- give radiation treatment to cancer patients. for certain cancers, maybe chemo is the best treatment. for other cancers, maybe radiation treatment is best. and for some cancers, both chemo and radiation are needed. often times, hem/onc doctors work together with rad onc doctors to treat the same patients.

best ped onc programs... gosh, I don't know. I bet Penn is very good (because their children's hopsital is #1). I bet Harvard is very good (Children's hospital + Dana Farber Cancer Institute). You should ask the ped forum people this question... I'm sure many people there are interested in ped onc, and have looked into the "good programs".

now, the training (after medical school) for ped hem/onc is: 3 years peds residency + 3 years ped hem/onc fellowship. for ped rad onc its: 5 years rad onc residency + (optional) 1 year ped rad onc fellowship.

best of luck.

 

[DrJ2B]

Thank you so much music710! I really appreciate all your help and will definitely look into posting in the peds forum. Best of luck with all your interviews!