Dr. Natasha Spanos, DVM
Radiation Oncology Resident
One of the best parts of my childhood was being able to have many species of animals including dogs, cats, rabbits, hamsters, birds, a turtle, and even a bearded dragon. With every animal I brought home, my desire to care for them and become a veterinarian only became more appealing.
I was raised in Cold Spring Harbor, New York. After high school, I earned a bachelor of science degree at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. I was then accepted to St. George’s Veterinary School in Grenada. I then completed my clinical year (fourth year) at Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine.
My interest in oncology budded in my third year of veterinary school, but radiation oncology became especially interesting during my fourth year of veterinary school with radiation oncology externships. The patient care, physics, technology, and continuously changing field of radiation oncology were what made me solidify my aspiration to become a radiation oncologist.
After veterinary school, I completed a small animal medicine and surgery rotating internship at Red Bank Veterinary Hospital in Red Bank, New Jersey. I was thrilled to be accepted as a radiation oncology resident at the Flint Animal Cancer Center.
As a radiation resident, my typical day consists of managing radiation patients as they undergo therapy, setting up CTs for clients whose pets will be undergoing radiation therapy, learning to operate the linear accelerator, creating plans for radiation patients, and taking master’s classes on radiation biology and physics to prepare for board certification in the future.
One of my favorite aspects of being a resident is helping patients and clients whose pets have been recently diagnosed with cancer and giving them the possibility to have their normal pet back for a period of time, whether that is several weeks to several years.
When I’m not working, I enjoy spending time with my two dogs – Kiwi, a Morkie, and Biggie, a Chihuahua. I also enjoy being active, as well as trying new restaurants.
After my residency is completed, I hope to return to my family in New York and work as a radiation oncologist there.