5 reasons why you should study Oncology

1.IMPORTANCE
Lets consider a usual 'there's a new disease breakout' scenario.When a disease is in the limelight for affecting many people all over the world, or some part of the world (or even just a few celebrities!), a lot of importance is given to that particular one. It's like an impending doom over all...There are a host of people researching all of a sudden,  new medications coming out every other day, and it stays in the news for quite sometime, atleast as long as the media's short-lived memory lasts! Then a very promising cure is found, and people die no more.
Well, this applies to a lot of diseases that have come and gone, which then seemed deadly, but eventually proved to be otherwise,for example, small pox, or polio. However, this does not apply to Cancer, and a few other diseases like AIDS. Cancer has beaten 'em all and stayed for decades, and it hasn't become any kinder. Allow my personification of Cancer, it helps me relate to it better. Cancer's like this cruel king who's been ruling over the 'health' of millions ever since it came into existence. Swift as a cat, it selects random, completely harmless, quite normal beings, and the next thing they know is their world's upside down! It leaves grieving families behind, if at all 'leaves' them completely...

So like the history has taught us, time and again, we need to unite against the one common enemy. This has to be done even if the enemy hasn't hovered around your door yet! This shows that the 'importance' of fighting against this disease has only risen with time.

2.ONCOLOGY IS A DEPRESSING FIELD :  A MYTH
Yes I've heard people tell me that before, and many believe it to be true. But trust me, when you've been on both sides of the river,ie( one side where you have tried helping someone and you lost that person, another side where you stayed away from it because you felt that your help doesn't make a difference) it only feels more satisfying to be on the former side and help as much as you can, than staying on the latter.
Talking about death, it surely is inevitable, in some cases more than others. But it surely makes a huge difference to a person going through this journey,even when you've had an insignificant role to play.Which I'm sure is not insignificant at all.
It surely gives you more satisfaction to know that you have helped, instead of wondering whether you should have helped, for the rest of your life.

3.FUNDING
Time to talk about some practical stuff! Well, a LOT of funding is available in any field related to Oncology. Not only Government funding, but also huge private fundings. And this applies to a large number of countries, developed and developing alike.

4.RESEARCH
Let's talk about my personal favorite! Well, there are innumerable things yet to be discovered in the field of Oncology. There is a HUGE scope for all kinds of research, clinical trials, drug development, etc. And believe me, I recently came across many funding programs and scholarships offered for Cancer-Research for both scientists and students. There's a lot of available resources that has been under-utilized. There's a reason why the governments want to shell all this money for one disease, which is not exactly 'one' disease in itself. Don't we all know the reason? But are we willing to utilize all the resources yet? Well, it's never too late to begin !

5.DIVERSITY
If the disease knows no boundaries, then neither should we! Studying and contributing to the field of Oncology in the 21st century is not just limited to medicine graduates, like it very well shouldn't be. You can be a para-medical student and still study Oncology, but slightly different aspects of it. But like I said earlier, everyone has a role to play. Well let's not keep it limited to medicine and allied fields. Great contribution can be given from the non-medical population as well. Take bio-medical engineers for instance. Or a media person who could be resourceful in carrying out awareness campaigns. Sometimes even being a celebrity helps if you're willing to flaunt a yellow livestrong band or a pink breast cancer ribbon! If you're just a student, and wondering what you could possibly do, well there's volunteer work for the patients. And if you're extremely rich and kind alike, you could start donating for the benefit of patients!

Also read-
Cancer and surgery.
What is Radiation oncology?
What is Cancer-related fatigue?
What is psycho-oncology?
12 causes of cancer.
Cancer in 21st century.