Working with cancer

[SleepyGator888]

I'm a current 3rd year medical student and have rad onc as one of my top choices for residency options. I was fortunate to be involved in research at a local cancer center and found the entire experience very enjoyable and lacking the somberness I expected initially in a cancer environment. However I was only there for 2 months so I'm wondering what the long term experience in treating cancer is like. For anyone working in rad onc, does tracking a patient from diagnosis to wasting to early death affect you or did it affect your decision to enter the field?

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[ramsesthenice]

I hear this a lot and I would also challenge you to find me a patient oriented practice besides PM&R or peds that doesn't involve a fair bit of patient death. Any kind of adult primary care, what do you think 10 to 15 year diabetes follow up leads to? Or CHF. Or neurodegenerative disorders. Granted, some onc specialties like GI or lung do have a quick down fall but that's not the majority of what most rad oncs do.