Is oncology monotonous?

[Kakarrott]

I mean, some people love when things are the way they expect them to be. So in no way, I am saying that monotone is a bad thing.

I just wanted to ask if you as an oncologist ever see something you did not expect.

I can imagine that variety in this field comes with a patient and you basically being their ear to listen to their fears. Even then there must be a certain couple of way patients react to cancer so it is just a couple of scenarios playing over and over?

I have an unlimited respect for people who can deal with cancer, and I have the same respect for the oncologist who can keep calm while telling their patients the bad news. and I don't want to seem disrespectful toward any of those.

It just seems to be a really interesting speciality with a good research potential and somehow security that it will be there after I would finish training. But it seems really Monotonous/Repetitive. Is this a true or am I mistaken?

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[notcool]

I mean, some people love when things are the way they expect them to be. So in no way, I am saying that monotone is a bad thing.

I just wanted to ask if you as an oncologist ever see something you did not expect.

I can imagine that variety in this field comes with a patient and you basically being their ear to listen to their fears. Even then there must be a certain couple of way patients react to cancer so it is just a couple of scenarios playing over and over?

I have an unlimited respect for people who can deal with cancer, and I have the same respect for the oncologist who can keep calm while telling their patients the bad news. and I don't want to seem disrespectful toward any of those.

It just seems to be a really interesting speciality with a good research potential and somehow security that it will be there after I would finish training. But it seems really Monotonous/Repetitive. Is this a true or am I mistaken?

Not an oncologist (yet!) but it seems like any specialty becomes routine after a while.

During residency and fellowship, lots of things will be "something you did not expect," you will see zebras, etc. But eventually I think it will become routine, when you are an attending with years and years of experience.

In private practice, you probably see more bread and butter. In academic centers, you might see more unique things than in private practice.

I respect all physicians. All have a valuable job to do. PCPs, surgeons, endocrinologists, radiologists, and every other specialty.

Lots of other physicians have to deliver bad news, not just oncologists. Oncologists do seem to be generally compassionate and research minded people. But other specialties have a lot of research too (eg cardiology).

Despite all the gloom you hear on SDN, I believe any medical specialty will still have job security. Some are more secure than others, but even most pathologists find a job eventually. It might not be in their desired location or it might not be for the money they want, but they'll have a job.

In the end, I really believe you should do what you enjoy and makes you happy.

 

[HOIV]

The issue with cancer is that it can and will do anything it wants. Average response times are just that...average. Median survival is an average. You never know what the nextset of scans will bring or whether your patient will blow through all therapy or respond beautifully or even have potentially a cure in the setting of a seemingly incurable disease. To me there is nothing monotonous about my day. My patients’ feelings are like a roller coaster and that’s enough to keep me on my toes. I think onc is one of the most dynamic and evolving fields. Every day I get new data in my email and with next gen sequencing the possibilities are or at least seem endless. We need therapy to catch up to testing. We now have a drug (erdafitinib) as of a few weeks ago that has a 42% response rate in FGFR mutant metastatic urothelial cancer. This bests both chemotherapy and immunotherapy in this patient subset. These are amazing times to be an oncologist.

 

[CatFactorial]

The issue with cancer is that it can and will do anything it wants. Average response times are just that...average. Median survival is an average. You never know what the nextset of scans will bring or whether your patient will blow through all therapy or respond beautifully or even have potentially a cure in the setting of a seemingly incurable disease. To me there is nothing monotonous about my day. My patients’ feelings are like a roller coaster and that’s enough to keep me on my toes. I think onc is one of the most dynamic and evolving fields. Every day I get new data in my email and with next gen sequencing the possibilities are or at least seem endless. We need therapy to catch up to testing. We now have a drug (erdafitinib) as of a few weeks ago that has a 42% response rate in FGFR mutant metastatic urothelial cancer. This bests both chemotherapy and immunotherapy in this patient subset. These are amazing times to be an oncologist.

Put another way, stereo, not monotonous. Dolby Digital, even.

The Dude abides.

 

[visari]

The same argument can be made about every single specialty or sub-specialty. You're going to be dealing with certain pathologies over and over. If you're in endo, you'll see a lot of diabetes. if you're an interventional cardiologist it's all CAD and stents. if you're a vascular surgeon, it's a lot of PAD and AAA surgeries. if you're an oncologist, well ..it's a lot of cancer and chemotherapy. So I don't get your point. After a few years in practice, there's no specialty where you see interesting new stuff every day.

I haven't been in practice that long but I would say in my general oncology/hematology clinic I see one or maybe two cool cases every week. And by cool I mean unusual presentations or unexpected response to therapy or weird toxicities to drugs ...etc and not like bizarro Dr. House kind of crap.

 

[QualityProcess]

ive always thought one of the major questions with regard to specialty choice in medicine is, which specialty's bread and butter, monotonous cases can you tolerate? I love critical care and surgery... but if I had to come in at 2am on a saturday on a regular basis for some bread and butter nonsense when I'm 60, id never forgive myself.