the way cancer medicine is done today is a lot of guess work and experimentation On top of the things you point out, cancer is all about the genes - the genes

the way cancer medicine is done today is a lot of guess work and experimentation On top of the things you point out, cancer is all about the genes - the genes in the host as well as the myriad of mutations in the cancer. Cancer treatment of the future will involve sequencing of the patient's genome and repeated sequencing of samples of the cancer itself. The computer will be needed to dynamically account for mutations and prescribe treatment for each one as it arises. Networks of medical computer systems will be able to consult at internet speeds on specific mutations to get suggestions for treatment that are built upon results of other computer prescriptions whose efficacy is much better recorded, processed, and correlated. As you say, it will be the second tier of the medical industry that most benefits from this revolution. Any nurse who can follow the instructions given by the computer for gathering information, administering tests, feeding results back to the computer, and providing treatment could become a world class oncologist. Probably doctors will still play a role in some level of oversight of what the computers are prescribing -- but that will fade as our trust level increases over time. Within ten years, computers will be assisting doctors on every diagnosis. Within twenty, they'll be assisting nurses, mostly replacing the need for doctor time. Within thirty years, you'll be able to perform your own interactions with a medical computer as easily as you Google today -- probably easier since it will interact with you using natural language.