About Oncologists

An oncologist is a person who practices oncology, a medical discipline that focuses on all aspects of cancer, including prevention, diagnosis and treatment. Oncologists not only work in hospitals but also in medical research centers and universities. Oncology is an important profession as 7.5 million people die from cancers in the world every year.

History

• The origin of oncology can be traced back to 2,000-2,500 years ago, when Roman and Greek physicians like Hippocrates (460-370 B.C.) recognized cancers as special diseases that require special treatments. In fact, Hippocrates was thought to come up with the word "cancer." In Greek, "cancer" refers to a crab, possibly likening the spreading of cancerous tumors to the shape of a crab.
  The most common treatment for cancer for a long time is surgery. However, it became clear that surgical treatment of cancers is not sufficient, especially when patients have metastatic cancers. In the 20th century, new treatment methods such as radiation therapy, hormone therapy and chemotherapy were introduced and had greatly improved survival of cancer patients following surgery. Furthermore, with recent advances in imaging techniques and our understanding of tumor biology and tumor genetics, oncologist are now able to optimize treatments for individual patients based on their tumor characteristics and genetic make-up.

Types

• An oncologist can be classified according to the method he uses to treat patients. For instance, radiation oncologists specialize in cancer treatment based on radiation, also known as radiotherapy. Other examples are surgical oncologists, who perform surgeries to remove tumors, and medical oncologists, who specialize in chemotherapy and medical treatments of cancer.
  Oncologists can also be classified according to the organs where the cancers are located. For instance, gynecologic oncologists specialize in cancers of the female reproductive system, such as breast cancer and cervical cancer. Physicians who study pediatric oncology are trained to treat cancers in children. Hematologists specialize in blood cancer such as leukemia and related diseases of the spleen, lymph nodes and bone marrow.

Significance

• The goal of oncology is to find the best treatment method to improve survival and to reduce morbidity for cancer patients. The onologist not only has to decide which combination of treatment modalities are best for the patients, but she also has to coordinate efforts from diverse disciplines, including pathology, counseling, and genetics.
  Oncology is one of the fastest evolving branches in medical science. This is not so surprising, since cancers will soon take over heart disease as the leading killer in developed countries.

Identification

• To become an oncologist in United States, you must graduate from a medical school and complete an Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education accredited residency program. You then continue your training in a specialty. After finishing your specialty training, you can practice after passing an examination to be certified by the medical specialty board.

Considerations

• The average salary of a medical oncologist in the U.S. is about $250,000. Radiation oncologists make on average $390,000 a year. The salary of top radiation oncologists is about $800,000 a year.
  Interestingly, the salaries of oncologists in academic hospitals are only about half of the salaries of oncologists in the private sector. In the private sector, 60 to 70 percent of income of an oncologist comes from selling chemotherapy. In academic medical centers, revenues from selling chemotherapy go to the institution. Oncologists in the private sector also tend to prescribe more expensive drugs.