There’s so many beautiful places in the world it’s hard to decide. Even in traveling I’m like, do I want to go back to this really cool place or do I want to go explore a new place?
±õ’m&²Ô²ú²õ±è;Lindsay Burt and I’m a radiation oncologist. I basically treat cancer patients with radiation, which is one modality of treating cancer.
When was your love for radiation oncology born?
I used to do a crazy sport called biathlon, which is cross-country skiing and shooting or cross-country running and shooting. When I was a little high school student doing this sport I was at one of the races—and these races aren’t very big because not a whole lot of people do these races—and I met a radiation oncologist. It turns out that radiation oncologist had a pretty big impact on my life. He helped out with our track and cross-country team, which I was part of, and he would just tell me about radiation oncology on our runs. So I became interested in the field.
What are you up to on your days off?
I am an outdoor enthusiast. I love being outdoors so whenever I’m not working I love to be outside. I’m a big runner. We have wonderful trails here. Anywhere in the mountains, I love hiking. I’m also a really big biker so I like to bike up all the canyons, and there’s excellent swimming and camping. It’s just a fantastic place.
I went to the base camp of Mount Everest a few years ago. I did Kilimanjaro. On my list and goals of things to do would be to go down and hike around and explore Chile and Patagonia region.
What is the best part of your work day?
I love my patients. That’s why I come to work each day. My favorite part of my job is getting to interact with my patients. I learn so much from them. And it can be hard at times, but it’s very rewarding actually. You develop a special bond with your patients over the course of their treatment. We treat the patients as a family member. From when they come in the door, we greet them and get to know them, get to know what their interests are. And as we follow them, we make sure they are doing okay, not only with their cancer treatment but in life in general.
Learn more about radiation oncology.