Why I'm an oncologist

A lot of people ask me, "Why did you become an oncologist?" It's probably the most common question I get about my job, and it is usually asked with a tone of "I could never do what you do." My answer usually revolves around the fact that cancer patients really are the "best" patients to have. We used to joke as residents that being nice was a strong risk factor for having cancer and, indeed, some days I believe that to be true. Whether they were always nice and then got cancer, or whether having cancer made them refocus their life priorities and realize that being nice to each other is the best way to live your life (as I believe it is), I do not know. But, by the time they come to see me they are all, nearly without exception, nice people. I have piles of baby blankets and homemade casseroles from my patients to celebrate the birth of my child — what other doctors are so lucky? So, I was not surprised to come across this amazing story of a (very) young lung cancer patient, Jill Costello. Jill was diagnosed with metastatic lung cancer in college, right at the apex of her collegiate rowing career. This is the story of her continuing to compete through her treatments and her dying, and inspiring heaps of people along the way — including me. And that's just it, that's the point. Who wouldn't want a job where the patients inspire you to be a better person, to live a better life, to squeeze every bit of joy out of every day? Sure, it's selfish, but it's also what sustains me. I am amazed that not everyone wants to be an oncologist! I'd choose it again and again and again.