In the past several years, more and more Canadian hospitals have medical oncologists on staff. Your family physician, internist or surgeon may refer you to this specialist. If your type of cancer requires radiation therapy , you will be referred to a center that has the necessary highly specialized radiotherapy equipment. Such facilities are located in about 29 centers across Canada. They are licensed by the Atomic Energy Control Board, an agency of the federal government. They are usually attached to larger hospitals so that they have access to any general medical and surgical care that becomes necessary. As well as radiation oncologists, many such centers employ medical oncologists and surgeons with an interest in cancer.
These centers have very specialized equipment and highly trained staff, and you may have to travel to a center if those facilities are not available where you live. Since treatment often takes up to several weeks, some such centers have residential facilities attached to them where you can stay while you are receiving your treatments.
If your treatment is entirely to be by drugs (chemotherapy), you may be cared for by your family physician, an internist in your home community or a medical oncologist in your city.
