Oncology

Oncology was one of the areas that I thought I wanted to be in, at least that was the past. I am currently attached to Oncology and just realised how depressing it can be to be a doctor in this unit. I have seen a few cancer patients and it seems so awkward to interview them cos I'm not sure if I am stepping into a dark zone which stirs up their emotions.

Just last week, I witnessed a doctor breaking bad news to a patient with breast cancer. She had breast cancer for quite some time but was under medications and she thought it was fine. Then, she had this back pain and the imaging results showed that she is likely to have metastases (cancer spread) to her back. She was astounded upon hearing this news and cried.

Having seen so many breast cancer patients, this disease seems really scary. It seems as though having it is like carrying a time bomb. That is why it is so important for women to check their breasts regularly and go for mamograms regularly when they are old.

On the whole, cancer seems so scary and you can never know if you are fully cured. It can hide somewhere and you'll never know it is there until it relapse...

For now, oncology is not under the list of areas which I would be interested in. Hopefully there would be other areas coming up that would interest me. Only a few more years to go before I have to decide.