Somewhat unique situation

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DJ_Ileum

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Hello all,

This is my first post so I am hoping to get some advice from the people in this forum regarding my current situation.
I am currently on my first year of dental school and doing pretty well in it. But as luck would have it, a few days ago, I was diagnosed with lymphoma. My treatment should start sometime in the next week or so. I would have to take a leave of absence at my school so I can fully recover, but I can't help but to have second thoughts about dentistry and feel disconnected with what I am doing/learning in class right now, given my situation. I have always been pre-med but only applied to dental school because of the better lifestyle and hours. Now I am at a crossroad, since I am given the chance to start over -- but then again, I wouldn't want to waste time and money on a career path that I already started. I feel like I would be happy doing both. The changing healthcare system in the US (more administrative work, less respect from peers) as well as the long work hours are deterring me from medicine the most (long schooling isn't that much of a big deal to me). This situation in my life made me give importance to being close to family, a luxury that I will have a hard time getting in dentistry (saturation in my hometown, SoCal).

Any advice?

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Not really any advice, but best wishes for recovery. Focus on your health and you and take full advantage of your LOA. What you should do? I could not say, b/c this is such an individual thing. Seems like the bigger issue is to focus on getting well, but depending upon how things go, well, it doesn't mean you can't stay in school or even look at different paths. You didn't say what kind of lymphoma, and that's fine. You needn't. I am thinking your prognostic rating is pretty good, and that's why you posted your dilemma.

Things happen in life and take us down different paths sometimes. Be well. You will figure it out. Hoping for an optimal outcome.
 
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