Cancer cases in field of Anesthesia

[StevenSavedher]

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Apologies in advance, if this topic has been done before but I was wanting some general advice on choosing Anesthesia. I'm an M3 and I have a huge personal interest in cancer in general. Love reading about it in addition to viewing images and research in the field of cancer. However aside from this Anesthesia is perfect for me in every other aspect.

I just wanted a snapshot estimate of how many cancer cases an attending might see in month or year on average. How big of a role do the properties of the tumor play when it comes to formulating an anesthetic plan for cancer cases? Do you think I'll get enough cancer related cases to somewhat satisfy this interest I have. I've noticed MD Anderson has a "Cancer Anesthesia fellowship" but I'm guessing its useless unless I want to work there some day. Am i better off just attending Cancer research conferences to meet my curiosity?

Any advice is greatly appreciated, thanks

 

[deleted171991]

It seems you have discovered your passion. Run with it! Do oncology in some form or shape.

The only thing that could come close in anesthesia is doing a pain fellowship and then focusing on cancer pain. But neither that nor anesthesia in general does not involve significant knowledge of oncology.

Follow your passion. Anesthesia literature puts me to sleep, while I could read about critical care all day long. Guess which one makes me happier on a busy day.

 

[Modanq]

Agree with above. Cancer is a special force. Spouse is oncologist. It will consume your life and career but very meaningful. You maybe able to carve a niche out in cancer pain/acute pain palliation but that is obviously not on the curative side of the coin. None the less, very very important in the lives of cancer pts and potentially more important than actually forcing a cure against patient wishes.

 

[narcusprince]

If your looking for a anesthesiologist/Cancer specialist/Jazz affecianado look up Dr Juan Cata at MD Anderson.

 

[Orin]

If you don't mind not passing gas I would say anesthesia to a pain fellowship at big cancer program like MD Anderson or Sloan Kettering +/- palliative care fellowship if you don't like interventional work.

Then you can try to embed in a cancer hospital for pain/QOL management with close connections to oncologists/surgeons/etc but you would be limited to academic settings most likely. You could go back to perioperative work but the anesthetic management often does not account for cancer biology as much as you might think it could.

Interventional pain folks also offer some ablative procedures that are useful for cancer, but primarily the goal is to improve QOL/function, which can also help with engaging patients better in curative therapies.

 

[StevenSavedher]

If you don't mind not passing gas I would say anesthesia to a pain fellowship at big cancer program like MD Anderson or Sloan Kettering +/- palliative care fellowship if you don't like interventional work.

Then you can try to embed in a cancer hospital for pain/QOL management with close connections to oncologists/surgeons/etc but you would be limited to academic settings most likely. You could go back to perioperative work but the anesthetic management often does not account for cancer biology as much as you might think it could.

Interventional pain folks also offer some ablative procedures that are useful for cancer, but primarily the goal is to improve QOL/function, which can also help with engaging patients better in curative therapies.

Thank you so much for the insight.
My fear of doing Oncology or Rad Onc is that the specialty will literally consume me with little time for anything else. How could anyone get bored of killing something as slippery as cancer? I was hoping that at least ocassionaly I could jump into the worlds of oncologist every now & then as part of the OR team for a cancer patient even if I chose to work mostly in the private sector. Besides this I still love the respect anesthesia commands when it comes to trauma in regards to the airway and resustication skills. Dont want to give that up 🙁

 

[smq123]

Thank you so much for the insight.
My fear of doing Oncology or Rad Onc is that the specialty will literally consume me with little time for anything else. How could anyone get bored of killing something as slippery as cancer? I was hoping that at least ocassionaly I could jump into the worlds of oncologist every now & then as part of the OR team for a cancer patient even if I chose to work mostly in the private sector. Besides this I still love the respect anesthesia commands when it comes to trauma in regards to the airway and resustication skills. Dont want to give that up 🙁

Apologies for butting in, as I'm neither an anesthesiologist nor an oncologist....but, having a rad onc for a spouse, I will tell you that most people choose that specialty because it allows them to have a life in addition to treating cancer. If you're intent on changing the world and doing a lot of research and becoming chair someday, then sure, it might consume you, but if you're interested in mostly just treating cancer and are ok with being in private practice, then you can sustain your passion for oncology and still have a reasonable lifestyle. Most oncologists, given the type of patients that they see, will tell you that it's important to enjoy your life and health while you have it. There are downsides to rad onc, for sure, but if you're interested, it's worth looking into.

Don't rule out oncology yet, if that's what you really enjoy. You may have to give up being the airway specialist, but you'll have to decide if that's a fair trade off.

 

[Orin]

...the specialty will literally consume me with little time for anything else.

This is more a statement about you than about the specialty you'll choose. I assume you know that, but you should step back for a second if you don't understand. Figure out your priorities now and what you think they will be in 5 - 10 years. If you want balance, you'll get it. If you want to be all consumed, you'll get it.

...I still love the respect anesthesia command...

No specialty commands respect. Special people with special skills built through passion and hardwork might command respect, but at the end of the day, those skills need to be valued by someone else too and some folks won't respect you no matter what you do. Don't pick something because of what other people think of it because you'll be unhappy.

Focus on yourself. What do you enjoy, what motivates you, and what do you want your life to be when you're an attending in practice? You can't control the other stuff so if you're disrespected and broke, at least enjoy and find value in what you do.

 

[fakin' the funk]

Apologies in advance, if this topic has been done before but I was wanting some general advice on choosing Anesthesia. I'm an M3 and I have a huge personal interest in cancer in general. Love reading about it in addition to viewing images and research in the field of cancer. However aside from this Anesthesia is perfect for me in every other aspect.

I just wanted a snapshot estimate of how many cancer cases an attending might see in month or year on average. How big of a role do the properties of the tumor play when it comes to formulating an anesthetic plan for cancer cases? Do you think I'll get enough cancer related cases to somewhat satisfy this interest I have. I've noticed MD Anderson has a "Cancer Anesthesia fellowship" but I'm guessing its useless unless I want to work there some day. Am i better off just attending Cancer research conferences to meet my curiosity?

Any advice is greatly appreciated, thanks

If you're interested in oncology and cancer biology, anesthesiology is not for you. Yes, many adult surgeries are for resection of some tumor or another, but we are just one part of the perioperative period, and that is just one part of the care and treatment for cancer patients. We think in seconds to minutes, oncologists in months to years.

 

[narcusprince]

I would say respect in our field comes from the patients. Also when the surgeons request to work with you or a family member requests you do their case thats respect. Respect is being called by groups and being asked to work. Their are people that undervalue what we do and you will never change how they feel about you. Respect is a collegue putting their life in your hands.

 

[2Fast2Des]

I would say respect in our field comes from the patients. Also when the surgeons request to work with you or a family member requests you do their case thats respect. Respect is being called by groups and being asked to work. Their are people that undervalue what we do and you will never change how they feel about you. Respect is a collegue putting their life in your hands.

How do you become that post residency? Certain demeanor, personality, skills? I would like to think I can become the "go to guy" at some point by being good, fast, strong patient advocate, hopefully not roll over to unreasonable surgical demands lol

 

[2Fast2Des]

Cancer Anesthesia Fellowship to become a specialist in that venue if you'd like to be the go to cancer anesthesiologist, I guess?