If your primary care physician thinks that you may have cancer, they will refer you to an oncologist. Oncologists are doctors who specialize in cancer. Some doctors specialize in just one kind of cancer, while others generalize and take patients with any cancer. You may actually see more than one type of oncologist to treat your cancer. They will work together to develop a treatment plan for you. So, what are the types of oncologists that you might see?

Medical Oncologist

A medical oncologist will be the oncologist who focuses on treatments using medication. That can include things like chemotherapy and targeted therapy. Chemotherapy consists of high doses of certain medicines that kill cancer cells. There are several of these medications, and most chemotherapy treatments are a cocktail made up of several medicines. Your oncologist may try you on several different medications until they find the one that works the best for you. Chemotherapy is often the first kind of treatment you will get for your cancer. Your medical oncologist may suggest a targeted therapy targeting specific genes in the cancer cells. 

Surgical Oncologist

Surgery is another standard cancer treatment. The surgical oncologist will be the one who plans and performs your surgery. They aim to go in and get out as much of the tumor as possible. If you need to have a biopsy to find out if you have cancer or if you have a particular kind of cancer, a surgical oncologist is the one who will do it. For example, if you have a lump in your breast, your PCP might send you to a surgical oncologist to get a biopsy done. They would then send the biopsy to pathology to be tested to find out what it is. 

Radiation Oncologist

Sending targeted bursts of certain kinds of radiation to tumors can help destroy the cancer. A radiation oncologist will know what types of radiation will work best on what kinds of cancer and the appropriate clinical radiation levels. Radiation needs to be administered carefully because too little of it won't affect the cancer, and too much can be problematic in other ways. 

Cancer can be a devastating diagnosis. If your doctor thinks that you have cancer, they will send you to an oncologist for better diagnosis and treatment. You may have several oncologists you work with who work as a team. That way, all the treatment modalities are covered, and you have the best chance to beat the cancer. For more information, contact an oncologist near you.