What Is a Hematologist-Oncologist?

A hematologist-oncologist is a doctor who specializes in blood diseases, bleeding disorders, and cancers. They’re trained in hematology (hee-muh-TOL-uh-jee) and oncology (on-KOL-uh-jee).

What Are Hematology and Oncology?

Hematology is the medical specialty that treats diseases and problems relating to blood, including blood cells and vessels, lymph nodes, and bone marrow.

Oncology is the medical specialty that studies and treats cancer.

Hematology-oncology (often called hem-onc) is the study, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of blood diseases and cancer.

Why Would Someone Need a Hematologist-Oncologist?

Hematologist-oncologists diagnose and treat many different conditions, including:

• blood conditions like:
  • anemia
  • hemophilia
  • neutropenia
  • sickle cell disease
  • thalassemia
  • thrombocytopenia

• cancers like leukemia and lymphoma

What Do Hematologist-Oncologists Do?

They provide treatments such as:

• bone marrow (stem cell) transplant
• blood transfusions
• chemotherapy
• gene therapy
• immunotherapy
• proton therapy
• radiation therapy
• surgery

Education and Training

Hematologist-oncologists who treat kids and teens have training that typically includes:

• 4 years of pre-medical education at a college or university
• 4 years of medical school — a medical degree (MD) or doctor of osteopathic medicine (DO) degree
• 3 years of residency (professional training in a hospital or clinic) in internal medicine or pediatrics
• 3 years of pediatric hematology/oncology training in a fellowship program. A “fellow” is a doctor who had more specialty training after completing medical school and residency training.

They also might have expertise in a specific blood disorder or type of cancer.