The following is an aritcle published on the MUSings, Volume 2, Issue 1, Page 9.
*Written by Vivian Cheng & Wei Ning (Will) Jiang, VFMP 2015.
Cancer.
A word associated with pain, with suffering, with chemotherapy and bleak hospital wards, with tear-stricken faces of families and friends, with death and loss of loved ones. A topic that has become the center for tragedies and countless TV dramas, where a happy ending is too good to be true. It’s understandable, for it is a devastating disease. The disease where the malignant cells have their own master plan, attacking and destructing anything that stands in their way of invasion, spreading through blood vessels and organs with no sense of boundary. One can imagine that it isn’t pleasant, at all.
However, amongst all the negativity that surrounds cancer, I remember medical school, first year, first term, week 5, Oncology. The gene pathways of colorectal cancer were interesting, but what caught my attention was the sense of hope that the instructors conveyed to the student body. Words such as “early screening”, “prevention”, “new treatment modalities”, “support networks”, “cure rates”, “HOPE”, were constantly brought up, and I was left quite in awe of how far medicine had advanced over the years.
It is with that mindset that I and many other classmates work together as the executive team in the oncology interest group (OIG) of UBC Medicine. OIG hopes to prepare medical students at UBC to tackle the many faces of cancer. Statistics blatantly point out that cancer patients make up a significant percentile of those we care for, regardless of what specialty we ultimately choose. Therefore, the OIG executives organized a series of instructive and meaningful projects over the course of the 2012/2013-year.
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CAREERS
Similar to other interest groups, we have our speaker series. A comfortable atmosphere, light food and drinks, and specialists from different fields in Oncology sharing their pearls of wisdom from long years of training and practicing. What better way to get a glimpse into what the life of an oncologist is about? We are aiming to cover Medical, Radiation, Pediatric, Surgical oncology, General Practitioner in Oncology, and other fields that most are unaware of.
Many of the distributed medical programs have also arranged for tours of the local cancer center guided by Radiation and Medical Oncologists. We hope that not only will students hear of of the lived experience of being a specialist in Oncology, they will also observe it first-hand.
For those who cannot come to these events, the OIG is compiling career interviews with different specialists in Oncology into a go-to booklet. The booklet will piece the specialists’ careers into a storyline, where students can read about the specialists’ interests and motivations, about the challenging and rewarding aspects of their job, and about their daily interactions with their patients.
For those who wish to delve deeper, we also organized a series of special seminars for seasoned clinicians and experts to discuss sensitive topics. The three seminars in 2012-2013 will focus on the role of complementary and non-traditional medicines in the treatment of cancer, the spiritual journeys of those diagnosed with cancer, and what dying patients want. We hope to bring learning out of the classroom and into seminars and discussion groups in these three events.
RESEARCH
A major part of oncology is the research that leads to better patient care. We hope that interested students will have a mean to pursue academic research, as it is arguably the best way to be immersed in a specialty. We are setting up a database where research opportunities and the name, contact information, as well as research focus of specialists in Oncology will be listed. Many specialists across B.C are willing to provide medical students with projects that stimulate their interests, and the OIG hopes that this database will make the connection between researcher and students smoother and less daunting.
As well, we established an oncology journal club for students to discuss clinical research, basic science studies, and layman literature surrounding cancer. These participating in the journal club will hone critical appraisal skills, expand their understanding of the field, and develop empathy for their patients. OIG hopes that students will develop both the necessary skillsets and the love to research that will follow them into their clinical practice.
PATIENTS
Last but not least, it is always the patients that are at the center of what we do as future doctors. If we do not hear of their stories, we would be navigating in the darkness, with no destination or motivation. With that in mind, we are arranging for students to sit-in and to participate in cancer patient support groups. In these intimate settings, the deepest feelings are voiced, and we truly glimpse how cancer impacts their daily lives.
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Amongst all these projects, OIG stands as a platform to bring students, clinicians, researchers, and patients together. We, the executives of OIG, are committed to preparing the specialists in Oncology of tomorrow. With a bit of thinking and teamwork, we believe that the OIG can make this happen.
Cancer is not a death sentence, but rather it is a life sentence; it pushes one to live.
– Marcia Smith