Medical oncology vs. Oncology

[BiologyNerd]

What is the difference in Oncology and Medical Oncology? I'm guessing one is on a floor in the hospital and the other is in its own center? And whats different within each as far as treatment?

[DLS_PMHNP, MSN, RN, NP]

I work at an outpatient cancer center and Med. Onc. entails almost everything except radiation therapy. We call that Rad. Onc.

Hope this helps. I'm not sure how it works other places.

Best,

Diane

[NurseRatched67]

This may help clear things up for you..

Oncology is oncology. The differentiating factors are if you are looking at "sub specialties" in oncology.

For instance...if a patient is diagnosed with an abdominal "mass", then they may be referred to a "surgical oncologist", who may perform surgery and if adjuvant therapy is needed after surgery either follow that patient themselves OR refer them to a "medical oncologist".

A medical oncologist is usually a doctor who specializes in treating patients with regimens of chemotherapy. There are many specialites within the medical oncology field. i.e. Heme, Neuro, Breast, GI, Gyne etc.

There are also Radiation Oncologists who strictly deal with patients needing radiation, either before, after or in conjuction with surgery and/or chemo.

Think of a medical oncologist like you would a specialist, one who you would see in their office for your visits. They would follow your care and order tests, labs and regimens of treatment. Most cancer patients see their doctors at least once a month if not more.

Then the next confusing part is where all of this physically takes place.

Radiation therapy is done in the Nuclear Medcine or Radiation departments at hospitals and even some outpatient centers. Patients can sometimes have radiation while being an impatient (one who is admitted to a hospital unit/floor) or can sometimes have radiation on an outpatient (they go home after treatment) basis.

This is the same for chemotherapy. Some patients will be required to be hospitalized for some treatments depending on their disease and regimen of drugs. Chemotherapy is also given on an "outpatient" basis at cancer care centers all over the USA. These centers are usually affiliated with the hospital that the patients doctor is affliated with, but not always.

So in a nutshell...Oncology is oncology, but within the "oncology" tree there are many branches of sub specialities.

If you are an RN, you can work on a hospital "floor" which is an inpatient unit. You would typically be caring for oncology patients who need to stay a certain length for whatever reason. They may be there because they are reacting to medications, they are in pain, they are having cancer related problems (ie. bowel obstructions requiring surgery), or they are dying. The inpatient floors may even get patients who have had a reaction during outpatient chemo infusions.

Outpatient chemo infusions are done at a center where a patient comes in and is hooked up to their medications for the necessary amount of time and then they go home after. Blood & platelet transfusions, hydration, electrolyte riders and bone marrow transplants or biopsies are also sometimes done on an outpatient basis depending on the situation and patient.

It would be good for you to ask which RN's here work inpatient or outpatient. That could probably give you a better idea of what is happening in their world!