In this edition , Caitlin Costello , MD , talks about her winding path to a myeloma specialty , and raising four daughters along the way . Dr . Costello is a hematologist / medical oncologist and associate professor of medicine at University of California ( UC ) San Diego .
Caitlin Costello , MD
● Where did you grow up ? What was your childhood like ? I ’ m a born and bred San Diegan . I ’ m the oldest of three and my brothers are 17 months and nine years younger than me , respectively . I attended
Caitlin Costello , MD a Catholic high school and spent most of my free time in a gymnastics gym or on a soccer field .
I was fortunate enough to be recruited to play Division 1 soccer at Harvard University and pursue my undergraduate degree . My plan was to spend four years in Boston and find my way back to the West coast .
Did you always know you wanted to go into medicine ? Medical school was always a goal . As far as my cardiologist father was concerned , I was going to take over the family business . As far back as I can remember , that was the plan . In elementary school , I remember bringing in a cow heart to dissect and to analyze in science class .
In college , I majored in biology to pursue a pre-med degree . Both my class load and soccer were significant time commitments , but it was wonderful . I was surrounded by extremely motivated people - people who were going to change the world . It ’ s inspiring to be around people who push you to compete and become something bigger than you could have imagined .
Walk us through your career . What drew you to hematology , and then myeloma and transplant specifically ? Although I planned to return to the West coast at the end of college , once you end up in Boston , it ’ s hard to leave . It ’ s such an amazing city . I was fortunate to be able to attend Tufts Medical School and spend another four years in Boston .
During the summer after my first year of medical school , I worked as a phlebotomist at a hematology / oncology clinic . After that summer , I had essentially crossed oncology off my list of potential specialty aspirations because , as a young medical student , I wasn ’ t sure I could cope with the burden of grief that accompanies the field of oncology . While I did find many patient relationships to be rewarding This interview has been edited for length and clarity .
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Dr . Costello with her husband and their four daughters .
I felt overwhelmed by the suffering I witnessed and couldn ’ t see myself doing it as a career .
I also explored obstetrics as a potential career path . Delivering babies can be exhilarating and celebratory – almost the opposite from a life in oncology . After some thought , I steered myself again in another direction . Maybe it was lifestyle – maybe my incredible obstetrics colleagues had more stamina or endurance than I did – but I crossed that off the list as well .
I couldn ’ t see myself as a pediatrician or surgeon , so at that point , my plan was to go into internal medicine . It seemed like a good route for me because it kept my options open for adult medicine while I figured out which subspecialty was right for me .
During my internal medicine residency at Weill Cornell Medical College , despite asking to not do much oncology because I was convinced it wasn ’ t for me , somehow , I kept getting assigned to the oncology wards , specifically malignant hematology . At some point , it occurred to me that maybe I hadn ’ t given it a fair chance . I found myself emotionally invested in patients and intellectually stimulated by all the scientific progress in the field .
Suddenly , the grief I initially felt became more meaningful . I developed rewarding relationships with patients who trusted me and took a leap of faith with me . With my support system within the community of malignant hematologists ,
I discovered the specialty was more fulfilling than I could have ever imagined . I did not plan to go into multiple myeloma specifically . In fact , I loved acute leukemias and spent most of my time during my later years of internal medicine residency negotiating with co-residents to see if I could trade for their rotations at Cornell , or across the street at Memorial Sloan Kettering , so I could get more experience on the leukemia wards .
Thanks to my wonderful mentors at Cornell and Sloan Kettering , my first impression with oncology proved to be wrong . I realized that this field would provide that human touch and patient relationship I hoped for , as well as that intellectual stimulation where I could think and dream about treatments and potentially cures .
In fellowship , I finally had the opportunity to make my way back across the country to the “ Best Coast .” I have been embraced by my UC San Diego family ever since . Coming into fellowship , I hadn ’ t had much transplant experience . Fortunately , UC San Diego is a medium-sized program with an umbrella approach to the management of malignant hematology . Our division manages patients with any hematologic malignancy from diagnosis through treatment and follows patients through transplant and post-transplant care . Much of my fellowship was spent learning the management of hematologic malignancies and stem cell transplant . Again , I discovered
24 ASH Clinical News Bonus 2021 ASH Annual Meeting Preview Edition