UCLA Journal of Radiation Oncology FALL 2023 - Flipbook - Page 39
UCLA RADIATION ONCOLOGY JOURNAL
to live.” From small things like doing chores for
others around the house to sharing food and
helping a stranger in great need on the street
or from the local Catholic charities, my parents
taught me to think about and serve others. At
the same time, my dad would correct me as
a kid when I did something half-heartedly,
such as sweeping the kitchen. He would say,
“If you’re going to do something, do it right.” I
translated and understood it as giving my every
task what’s necessary and seeking excellence
in everything I do. In medicine everything
made sense. I saw the opportunity to use my
background to connect with a multitude of
people just like my parents, while seeking
excellence in a professional way and directly
serving others.
residents were great at explaining and guiding
me to resources to enhance my understanding
of things. In the beginning I watched as many
videos as possible of radiation oncology in
general, from contouring to the difference
between MRI vs CT based RT. My daily
experience included shadowing various
physicians--Dr. Albert Chang, Dr. Robert Chin,
Dr. Amar Kishan, Dr. Ann Raldow--cleaning
and organizing data, and the many motivating
and fun conversations over lunch with Dr. Luca
Valle. It was fascinating to see how patients’
experiences were converted into data which
I was going through, reminding me of the
purpose of research itself--to improve medical
treatments and enrich/alleviate patient health
outcomes.
E: Tell me about the ASTRO Medical Student
Fellowship Award. What propelled you to
apply? What was your experience? Who was
your mentor within our department?
E: While with UCLA Radiation Oncology
for the ASTRO Medical Student Fellowship
Award, what projects or research did you
have the opportunity to work on/collaborate
on?
A: While I had shadowed an oncologist for
several months during college, I had a very
limited understanding of radiation oncology.
During my first year as a medical student
with an open mind, I decided to contact a
variety of physicians to learn more about their
specialties and experiences. The first radiation
oncologist who took the time to introduce
me to the field was Dr. Michael Xiang. I had
heard of the ASTRO MSF award and during our
conversation I expressed interest in applying.
Though Dr. Xiang was interested in supporting
me, he put me in contact with Dr. Valle and
Kishan after sharing that I was interested in
prostate cancer as research interests. Under
Dr. Valle’s amazing support and guidance, I
submitted and received the ASTRO MSF award.
A: The primary project I helped out with was
a multi-center phase 2 study which sought
to study the quality-of-life outcomes and
toxicity profiles among patients who have
undergone a radical prostatectomy due to
prostate cancer. The purpose of this study
was to evaluate short-term physician-scored
genitourinary (GU) and gastrointestinal (GI)
toxicities and patient-reported outcomes after
postprostatectomy SBRT with prostate bed
doses of 30 to 34 Gy in 5 fractions. (https://
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36007724/)
I also collaborated with Dr. Valle on a Lit
review paper on the optimal radiation modality
in the treatment of prostate cancer, in which I
wrote a section about the rectal spacers, which
are balloons or gels used to minimize toxicity
to surrounding organs, including the rectum.
(https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37647496/)
My experience was awesome. Though I had to
learn so many things from zero, the 8 weeks
over summer were a glimpse into Rad. Onc.
academia and the day to day of amazing
radiation oncologists. Dr. Valle along with the
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