Oncology

What is oncology?

Oncology is a branch of science that deals specifically with tumors and cancers. “Onco” means ‘tumor’ or ‘mass’ and “-logy” means ‘study’.

The field of oncology encompasses three major domains: medical, surgical, and radiation.

Who is an oncologist?

An oncologist is a physician who is involved in the treatment of cancer. Generally, the main role of an oncologist is the management of the care and treatment a person as soon as he or she is diagnosed with tumor or cancer.

There are different types of oncologists. The major types of oncologists include:

Medical oncologists treat cancer utilizing chemotherapy and/or other medications including targeted therapy.
Surgical oncologists remove the cancerous cells and the nearby tissues by performing a surgery. They also do several types of biopsies.
Radiation oncologists treat cancer using the radiation therapy.

There are a few other types of oncologists including but not limited to:

Gynecologic oncologists treat different gynecologic cancers like cervical cancer and uterine cancer.
Pediatric oncologists treat tumors in children. The most common cancers affecting children are brain tumors, osteosarcoma, leukemia and Ewing’s sarcoma.
Hematologist oncologists diagnose and treat blood cancers including lymphoma, leukemia and myeloma.

What is the role of an oncologist?

An oncologist takes care of the patient right from the diagnosis of cancer throughout the entire course of the disease. The roles of an oncologist include:

Explaining the diagnosis and the current cancer stage to the patient
Describing and discussing the relevant treatment options with the patient

Offering high quality care and treatment
Helping the patient in the management of cancer-related pain, treatment side effects and other symptoms

A person suffering from cancer is most often treated by an expert team of oncologists specializing in varied areas of oncology. This is the most useful approach as cancer treatment probably involves a combination of chemotherapy, surgery and radiation therapy.

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