ESMO-ESO Course in Medical Oncology for Medical Students Valencia 2022: Best Student 2022

Malgorzata Styczewska and Tomas Sabater Fajardo, the winners of the 2022 ‘Best Student’ Award in Valencia, talk about their experience at the ESMO-ESO Course on Medical Oncology for Medical Students.

What was your main reason for applying to join the course?

Approaching the finish of my undergraduate studies and strongly considering pediatric oncology as my future specialty, I believe this course to be not only a great opportunity to summarize my knowledge in oncology but also to learn something new, beyond the level of a standard medical school course. I also really wanted to meet other students from different countries who plan to specialize in the same or similar fields.

Malgorzata Styczewska, Poland

What was your take home message from the five days?

My take home message is an optimistic one. Considering the tremendous complexity of cancer science, “beating cancer” as a singular disease has gotten more and more elusive. Instead, we are advancing toward not only greatly improving outcomes, but also toward curing a myriad of singular diseases whose features and treatment can be tracked down to the individual level. Even though there is still so much to learn about cancer itself (or perhaps, all its different types) and about its management, the amazing breakthroughs in the past few years really make me wonder what the field of oncology will look like in a few decades´ time.

Tomas Sabater Fajardo, Spain

Why are you interested in medical oncology?

To me, this field connects the most beautiful aspects of medicine – observation and being a part of constant progress of therapies and outcomes, vast possibilities of research, and most importantly, the human aspect – the responsibility and privilege of guiding patients through the difficult time of cancer diagnosis and treatment. I also like that practicing oncology requires extensive knowledge in many other fields of medicine and constant learning to stay up-to-date.

Malgorzata Styczewska, Poland

How do you feel about having a professional society, such as ESMO, supporting you in your professional development?

I feel truly grateful and privileged to have been granted this opportunity and, as a medical student, I think that ESMO´s initiative to offer courses should be emulated by other scientific societies, not just to foster the careers of future doctors, but to ultimately raise the standards of care.

Tomas Sabater Fajardo, Spain

Would you recommend this course and why?

I would strongly recommend this course not only to students interested in medical oncology, but also to students planning to specialize in other fields like pathology, oncological surgery, radiology or gynaecology. It is very comprehensive, well-led and perfectly balances discussing the basics of oncology with more advanced information, including analysis of the most recent breakthroughs in cancer treatment. Even more importantly, this is a great opportunity to meet future doctors from all over Europe and beyond and build bridges for further collaboration in clinical work and research.

Malgorzata Styczewska, Poland