Oncology

Oncology is a branch of medicine that deals with the study, treatment, diagnosis, and prevention of cancer. A medical professional who practices oncology is an oncologist. Cancer was first found in humans in the years 3000 BCE in Egypt. The Edwin Smith papyrus described a form of cancer as "a bulging tumor of the breast." Galen, a Greek doctor who lived from 130–200 CE, was the first to use the word onkos to describe tumors, from which the words "oncologist" and "oncology" are derived. Oncology is focused on the diagnosis of cancer in a person, therapy (e.g., surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and other modalities), monitoring of people after treatment, palliative care for people with advanced-stage cancers, ethical questions surrounding cancer care, screening of people who may have cancer, and the study of cancer treatments through clinical research. An oncologist typically focuses on a specialty area in cancer treatment, such as surgery, radiation, gynecological oncology, geriatric oncology, pediatric oncology, and various organ-specific disciplines (breast, brain, liver, among others).