Medical oncology is an area of medicine (also known as a specialty). Medical oncologists are doctors who specialise in using chemotherapy, immunotherapy and other drug treatments to care for people with cancer.
Medical oncologists do not use radiotherapy – this is the main difference from clinical oncologists.
To become a medical oncologist in England, doctors usually need to:
- Graduate from medical school
- Complete a two-year foundation programme after they graduate
- Complete at least two years of training in general hospital medicine and pass three sets of exams to gain Membership of the Royal College of Physicians
- Complete at least four whole-time years of specialty training in medical oncology and pass the Specialty Certificate Examination in Medical Oncology
What we do
Our medical oncologists work with other staff in our hospitals and those in other hospitals to care for people with solid tumours – cancer in any part of the body except the blood.
Your consultant could be a medical oncologist, a clinical oncologist or a haemato-oncologist. It will depend on what type of cancer you have and what type of treatment you are having.
If your consultant is a medical oncologist, they will:
- Assess you and decide on a treatment plan (along with other specialists)
- Lead on all aspects of your care
- Prescribe treatment such as chemotherapy (or other cancer drugs) and supportive treatment to help with symptoms, side-effects or complications
- Assess how you are responding to treatment and make any changes needed
- Monitor your cancer, any related conditions (such as side-effects or complications) and your general health
- Work with other specialists and refer you to them if you need care from them
Our team
Our Medical Oncology team includes:
- Consultants
- Other senior doctors who have completed specialist training
- Specialty trainees – doctors with several years of experience who are training to specialise in medical oncology
- Other doctors – including those completing the foundation programme after medical school