An oncologist is a doctor who specializes in diagnosing and treating people who have cancer.
If you have cancer, an oncologist will design a treatment plan based on detailed pathology reports that say what type of cancer you have, how much it has developed, how fast it is likely to spread, and what parts of your body are involved.
Since most cancers are treated with a combination of therapies, you could see several different kinds of oncologists during the course of your treatment.
What types of oncologists could you see?
Medical oncologists
Medical oncologists treat cancer using chemotherapy, hormonal therapies, biological therapies, and other targeted treatments. People often think of the medical oncologist as their primary cancer doctor.
Medical oncologists help their patients manage side effects, and they help monitor and maintain well-being. A lot of the time, patients follow up with their medical oncologists after treatment is complete.
Radiation oncologists
Radiation oncologists use high-energy photon beams to target and destroy cancer cells. Roughly one halfTrusted Source of all cancer patients will have radiation treatments as part of their cancer care.
Some cancers respond best to small “seeds” of irradiated material implanted in the affected area, while others respond best to intense beams of radiation that are so highly targeted they’re called “radiosurgery.”
Surgical oncologists
A surgical oncologist may be one of the first doctors you see if your primary care physician suspects that you have cancer. Surgical oncologists often perform biopsies, removing a small section of tissue so it can be checked for cancer cells.
If cancer cells are present, then you might see the surgical oncologist again — this time to have the tumor and surrounding tissues removed. The surgeon will help you prepare for and also recover from any surgical procedures you have during cancer treatment.
Pediatric oncologists
Pediatric oncologists diagnose and treat children who have cancer. About 175,000Trusted Source children under the age of 15 are diagnosed with cancer every year worldwide. In the United States, about 80 percent of children who are diagnosed with cancer and treated will survive.
Some pediatric oncologists specialize in certain types of cancer, and some focus on conducting research on childhood cancers. An important part of the work of most pediatric oncologists is educating families whose children are undergoing treatment for cancer.
Gynecologic oncologists
Gynecologic oncologists specialize in treating cancers that affect women, such as ovarian, cervical, uterine, vaginal and vulvar cancers, but they also often treat complicated gynecological conditions that are not cancerous like endometriosis and fibroid tumors.
Like other cancer specialists, gynecological oncologists have several years of training that focuses specifically on cancers affecting women.
Hematologist-oncologist
Doctors who specialize in treating blood cancers like leukemia and lymphoma are called hematologists, because they may also treat blood disorders that are not cancer, like sickle cell anemia and hemophilia.