Where there is a disease that accounts for almost one in six deaths, there are doctors, nurses, and a whole army of healthcare professionals dedicated to curing it.
Today, there’s a whole range of careers to treat cancer patients. From removing tumours, administrating medication, and caring for the terminally ill, the jobs are many and distinct from one another.
Different degrees prepare you to do all of this and more, such as genomics, immunology, epidemiology, and psychology.
Lana Hendrawan opted for a specialisation in radiobiology.
Also known as radiation biology or nuclear medicine, this medical science field studies the action of ionising radiation cells, biological tissue, and living organisms.
It’s an essential field of medicine as it’s one of the main ways to treat cancer patients, with approximately more than 50% requiring radiotherapy.
A decade ago, if you’d asked Hendrawan whether she’d be in such a high-impact job, she wouldn’t have thought it possible.
In school, biology was Hendrawan’s favourite subject, a telltale sign that she wanted to pursue something science-related.
Medicine was where she wanted to be.
“The older I got, the more aware I became of the world around me, and that was when my interest in healthcare grew.”
Born in Venezuela to Indonesian parents, Hendrawan was always on the move. Due to her father’s job, she has lived in France, Venezuela, Indonesia, Mexico, and Malaysia — places where she realised had two things in common: late disease detection and delays in diagnosis.
“Healthcare back home in Indonesia is underdeveloped and extremely fragmented,” she shares. “Compared to Western countries, Indonesia is not on the same level as them regarding cancer innovation or treatment.”
In Malaysia, universal coverage of cancer care is lacking. There are only 36 cancer treatment centres nationwide, with six under the Ministry of Health, four in university hospitals, and 27 in the private sector, according to Code Blue, an organisation in Malaysia that seeks to promote health care as a human right.
In Venezuela, it’s estimated that the country only has 10% of the drugs necessary for cancer treatments, as reported by The State of Cancer Care in Venezuela.
This realisation has motivated Hendrawan’s pursuit of radiobiology in hopes of using scientific research to treat cancer patients, improve their lives, and develop a long-term plan that will be implemented in Indonesia and other developing countries.
However, that’s not the only reason she’s passionate about helping treat cancer patients.
Hendrawan is an MSc in Radiobiology graduate from the University of Oxford. Source: Lana Hendrawan
Hendrawan is no stranger to seeing people battle cancer.
“I had a lot of family members who were affected by the disease,” she shares. “It’s something I hold particularly close to my heart, and it’s also a common disease nowadays, so it sits at the forefront of my thoughts.”
Early-onset cancer from 14 to 49-year-olds increased by 79.1% between 1990 and 2019, a 2023 study revealed. From 2019 to 2030, it’s predicted that cancer in this age group will increase by 30% globally.
The thing is, cancer isn’t one disease; it’s comprised of over 200 distinct diseases. Within each broad cancer type, there are many sub-types, and they all look and behave differently on genetic and molecular levels.
A one-size-fits-all treatment approach doesn’t work, and new therapies are needed.
“Cancer is still so complex, and nobody fully understands how it works and how to treat it,” says Hendrawan. “There’s always room to learn more about it and target different characteristics of the disease. I want to be a part of the team that creates new therapies, as it’s such a prevalent issue, and it hits close to home.”
Hendrawan has completed internships at the Stem Cell and Cancer Institute (KALBE), Bright Network, Siloam Hospitals Group, and International SOS. Source: Lana Hendrawan
Hendrawan pursued a BSc in Biomedical Science at Kings College London in the UK.
She graduated with a First-Class, earning her the “Best Overall Performance Prize” for her academic performance and the “British Society for Immunology Best Project Prize” for her research project on the Ebola virus.
After completing her bachelor’s, she joined the University of Oxford‘s MSc in Radiobiology.
In 2024, at 23, she graduated with Distinction, including a first-class dissertation. She was also awarded the Top Student Award by the Department of Oncology at Oxford.
Today, she is a Research Assistant in the department specialising in FLASH radiation, a technology that could revolutionise cancer therapy by delivering an entire treatment in milliseconds (400 times faster than conventional radiotherapy regimes) whilst sparing healthy tissue.
While Hendrawan is currently heavily based in academia, she hopes to transition from academia to industries that work on immunotherapy or the drug side of cancer one day to help treat cancer patients.
“I think I understand radiotherapy well and would like to explore other facets of the cancer treatment landscape,” she shares.
“One of my biggest goals is to be able to serve in underdeveloped countries, and hopefully, I can start something that can help with early detection of cancer in low-income or resource communities.”
As admirable as pursuing careers for cancer can be, it comes with a cost — specifically for women.
It’s no secret that women in the STEM industries face the most prejudice, especially in mining, oil and gas, and technology.
The medical industry has its own share of gender inequality too.
The sad part of being a woman in medicine is that even if you’re working together to treat cancer patients or save a life, you’ll get comments about how you’re not suited for the job just because of your gender.
And if you were to look at oncology or radiation biology in particular, gender inequality is prevalent.
In the US, 30% of radiology residents, both men and women, are victims of some sort of discrimination during their residency. Still, females are most often the target — 31 times more likely to become a victim than men, the Health Imaging reports.
Halfway across the world, in France, a 2024 study found that 62% of women in radiobiology reported having experienced inappropriate behaviour or sexual harassment in their workplace. Thirty-eight percent felt that having a child had “extremely” or “very” much impacted their career compared to 8.5% of the men.
Despite the prejudice in having one of the careers for cancer, Hendrawan is here to stay.
“Being a woman in STEM is empowering,” she says. “To me, I’m working on something that might one day save someone’s father, mother, grandparent, or even child. It gives you a sense of drive that rarely falters because your purpose isn’t self-centric anymore.”
Knowing what it’s like hearing the news that a loved one has cancer, watching them undergo treatment, and keeping them company by their bedside — Hendrawan hopes that one day, through her work, she’ll help make the process more effective and less painful.
Hendrawan is now working as a Research Assistant in the Petersson Laboratory at the Department of Oncology, University of Oxford. Source: Lana Hendrawan
In 2023, Hendrawan attended the “For More Women in Nuclear” event in commemoration of International Women’s Day at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters in Vienna.
At the event, she was asked, “How are we going to move forward if you leave 50% of the people, ideas, and creativity on the other side of the door?”
Her answer?
“Being in cancer research or nuclear medicine is about innovation, and talking about having women in the field highlights the importance of diversity towards innovation itself,” she says.
“Having women in the field means we’ll have more fresh ideas and perspectives that we bring to the table.”
One day, she hopes that there will be more role models in the industry for young women who might not see enough representation of themselves in the field.
Hendrawan completed her BSc in Biomedical Science at Kings College London. Source: Lana Hendrawan.
Getting a relevant internship is one of Hendrawan’s first pieces of advice.
“If you’re looking for careers in cancer research, particularly in what I do, getting a relevant internship will help you with your resume,” she shares. “Especially for those in the UK.”
You can shadow doctors at hospitals or healthcare NGOs. Interning at a pharmaceutical company is also a possibility.
Here, it’s key to know that you’re more capable than you think.
“I think a lot of people look at those health institutions and go, ‘I’m not smart enough to be a part of the industry’ or ‘I don’t have the skill sets to do this’. I was in this mental state too at some point,” says Hendrawan.
But, in Hendrawan’s words and experience, putting in the hard work, intention, and believing in yourself will leave nothing out of reach.
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