Oncologists

[JakeOgle]

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Hello everyone, I had a few questions to any oncologist out there. I am currently a Pre-Pharm student strongly debating on going Pre-Med.. Which are mostly the same classes and I'm only a 2nd Semester Freshman so I have plenty of time to adjust. I know I should shadow a oncologist before I ask but I plan on doing that at the end of this semester. However I'm the mean time I have some questions any of you may answer. So here are a few things I was curious about.
How hard is it to know that it is life or death with a patient.
How do you deal with the loss of a patient?
Do people often put you through law suits?
How many days of the week do you work?
Do you enjoy oncology?
Do the good out comes outweigh the bad?

Like I said I am very interested in becoming an medical oncologist. I really want to help the people who have to face this devastating disease. I don't think anyone should have to go through this pain but if they do, I want to help them and be a source of hope. I am even thinking of trying to start a Non-profit to help raise money for families that can afford the procedures or medicine needed to help people that have cancer..

I was just curious as to the thought of any oncologists out there.

Thank you for your time
-Jake

 

[Oso]

I think your best bet at getting these questions answered will be to shadow some oncologists. Also, you may not want to use your real name on these forums.

I think what's more important is for you to decide between pharmacy and medicine (again, do some shadowing). Should you choose medicine, you'll have plenty of time before having to pick a sub-specialty.

 

[Lya]

I don't know any SDN member in oncology off top of my head, but you should probably ask the oncologist you will be shadowing. Especially the question like "How many days of the week do you work?" will heavily depend on the nature of his or her practice (location, academic/private, etc.), so the answers will vary.

 

[gumdrops]

Hello everyone, I had a few questions to any oncologist out there. I am currently a Pre-Pharm student strongly debating on going Pre-Med.. Which are mostly the same classes and I'm only a 2nd Semester Freshman so I have plenty of time to adjust. I know I should shadow a oncologist before I ask but I plan on doing that at the end of this semester. However I'm the mean time I have some questions any of you may answer. So here are a few things I was curious about.
How hard is it to know that it is life or death with a patient.
How do you deal with the loss of a patient?
Do people often put you through law suits?
How many days of the week do you work?
Do you enjoy oncology?
Do the good out comes outweigh the bad?

Like I said I am very interested in becoming an medical oncologist. I really want to help the people who have to face this devastating disease. I don't think anyone should have to go through this pain but if they do, I want to help them and be a source of hope. I am even thinking of trying to start a Non-profit to help raise money for families that can afford the procedures or medicine needed to help people that have cancer..

I was just curious as to the thought of any oncologists out there.

Thank you for your time
-Jake

Definitely shadow in oncology. I'm not an oncologist but I shadowed extensively in it. Many of your questions are highly dependent on the cancers treated by the oncologist. For example, an oncologist who sees relapsed Ewing's sarcoma in kids is likely to see lots of terrible outcomes whereas a head and neck specialist who treats thyroid cancers is likely to see almost everyone in his or her clinic come out alive and kicking. Shadowing in medical oncology will help you decide if you like steering the scientific and emotional ship for patients or families who are battling a very unpredictable and wily disease. Best of luck to you.

 

[masaraksh]

I've shadowed several oncologists at an academic hospital and I think you should definitely do the same. Also, cancers can be very different. Some docs will deal with relatively small issues, others not so much. That is tough: imagine patients with metastatic disease, discussing with them their disease progression, signing them on to Phase 1 trials, talking to family members, explaining 'palliative' care, discussing hospice, explaining DNR/DNI.