Oncological Surgeon

[RexKD]

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Is there such a subspecialty or fellowship as Oncological Surgery?

Or would each subspecialty operate on the CA in their region? (ie, oph. operate on cancers of the eye, ENT operate on cancers of the neck, etc.)?

 

[iliketocut]

You can do a fellowship in surgical oncology after general surgery. Big name places that have fellowships are: MD Anderson, Sloan-Kettering, NCI, etc. It is pretty competitive to get into at present. There is a lot of overlap with other subspecialties, for example, colorectal surgeons also do bowel resections for cancer and some general surgeons still do Whipples for pancreatic cancer. But it is definitely its own specialty, and a lucrative one. You can also do a fellowship in just breast surgery and you would subsequently handle all of the breast cancer case, lumpectomies, etc.

 

[TigerLily46]

I have heard that it is a good idea to do a couple of research years after residency before applying to onc programs. If you're interested, it might be a good idea to do some between your 1st and 2nd years of med school, or do a few case studies during 4th year. I'm not sure how much this would help you in applying to fellowship, but at least you would have some experience to help you if you had to do more after residency. Also, there are some general surgery programs that have research years incorporated into the residency. Indiana University pops to mind for that. I know there are a lot more. Freida has that info on the site.

Good Luck!

 

[doc05]

a summer of research between ms1/ms2, or a couple of case reports during ms3/4 won't get you into a surg-onc fellowship. you'll pretty much have to go to a university-based surgery program and do 2-3 years in the lab (usually between pgy-2 and pgy-3 years).

 

[iliketocut]

That information is incorrect. There are several non-university based programs who are sending graduates to surg onc fellowships next year. Lenox Hill in NY is one example, their two chiefs are both going into surg onc, one to John Wayne and the other, I forget where. Neither did lab research. Also, Abington Hospital in PA consistently sends graduates to surg onc fellowships, a few to NCI who have not done lab research. Be careful of making broad generalizations, because they are usually incorrect. There are many ways to get the fellowship you want, and you do not HAVE TO go to a university program and spend time in the lab to do so.

 

[Ergo]

Doc05 is usually very well informed, and in this case his advice is sound. Although there are exceptions to the rule, competitive surgical fellowships are (no surprise) difficult to get. They want people who have experience in research with letters from people they know, AND they want people with polished surgical skills. You will improve your chances of achieving a competitive fellowship match (surg onc) by being a strong candidate with a CV that reflects your diverse skills and experiences. Writing case reports and doing a month of research (or two) between first and second year will introduce you to the writing process and a publication will help you get a residency, but when it comes time for fellowhship match they will want to know: What have you done lately? At what conferences have you presented your work? These types of projects usually take more than a year to complete.
Good luck.

 

[iliketocut]

No offense, but as medical students, you guys really do not know what it takes to get the fellowship you want and to reaffirm each others advice is foolish. When and if you interview and match at surgical programs and become surgical residents, you will realize that things are not always the way you think they are. Until then, for anyone interested in fellowships, talk to residents who are currently applying for that fellowship and find out the reality. Don't listen to medical students blabbering on this thread.

 

[Celiac Plexus]

In smaller fields like surg onc, letters of recommendation are very important. Do some research and find out which programs are sending people to surg onc fellowships consistently. Chances are there is a well-connected surg onc division at that program.

While research, and university training are not necessary, they are very helpful qualifications to have. I don't think anyone is saying that community program training will eliminate one's chances to match in a competitive fellowship. However, university training often affords more opportunity for research, and offers the chance to work with more influential surgeons.

Lenox hospital has a good rep, and the residents do rotations at some of the big NYC academic programs (Cornell, NYU, MSKCC). It is not the typical community program. Also, some community programs are considered "community/research" programs which may offer better opportunity for the fellowship minded resident. Also mentioned was Abington, PA's general surgery program as a good place to train for those interested in surg. onc, however they have sent only 4 residents to surg. onc. in the last 20 years. That hardly qualifies as "consistently" sending residents into surg onc.

Ultimately, any applicant considering both community program training, and fellowship training would be well-advised to research the community programs thoroughly and identify ones that have a track record of sending their residents into competitve fellowships.

 

[bcdnw]

I actually have a question about surgical oncology as a fellowship, based on its future as a specialty. I know I want to do surgery, and I know I'd like to treat cancer patients surgically, but I've actually heard very mixed things about the future of surgeons with this fellowship training. In a nutshell, that organ system specialists will continue to take more and more of the surgical procedures related to their organ system of choice. I've talked with some of the people at my institution, and even they are mixed. I'm mostly curious because I'm considering something along the lines of urology and a uro-onc fellowship, and this is vastly different than the g-surg and surg-onc/breast-surg-onc fellowship. I'd appreciate any thoughts on this from anyone. Thanks.