The Privilege of Being an Oncologist

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BlessandRefresh

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As an oncologist, you get to spend some of the most intimate emotional moments with patients. Be able to try and heal something bigger than yourself. Connect with the patient and their family and serve them as their final hope. The upward, downward swing of the career, the feeling of empathy and heartache for the patients family's loss, and on the other end the intense feelings of gratification and purpose beating the cancer.

How is your experience as an oncologist? Do you feel blessed to be able to be with patients in their final chapters? Has it grown you to be a compassionate human being?

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As an oncologist, you get to spend some of the most intimate emotional moments with patients. Be able to try and heal something bigger than yourself. Connect with the patient and their family and serve them as their final hope. The upward, downward swing of the career, the feeling of empathy and heartache for the patients family's loss, and on the other end the intense feelings of gratification and purpose beating the cancer.

How is your experience as an oncologist? Do you feel blessed to be able to be with patients in their final chapters? Has it grown you to be a compassionate human being?
I have nothing but respect for oncologists, but this is true for other physicians as well. For example, critical care deals with a lot of death and has family discussions too. Also you might consider palliative care as a specialty if end of care is what moves you most.
 
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Patients in my part of the world are usually physically and emotionally and financially exhausted when they reach an oncologist.
The disease, the treatment, the prognosis are just a part of the heavy burden they are carrying. I feel blessed to be able to help them finally sort out the diagnosis and start them on treatment - be it curative or palliative.
During long conversations with the patient, they cry, they laugh, they spill out their frustration, anxiety. I help them vent it out. That's probably what they want that that moment of time. It feels good to help them recover, both physically and emotionally.

The sad part of being an oncologist -- it's at times really hard to not carry home the sad emotions gathered in the hospital.
 
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