Music had long been a passion for Dr Blum, who began learning his first instrument, the piano accordion, as a child (he was too small for the guitar, which was the other option available).

He said he was going to study at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, but he worked hard at school and had options open to him.

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Dr Blum said the decision between music and medicine was one of the hardest of his life.

He loved music, but was aware that passions could feel very different when they became a job.

"I knew that I'd enjoy studying music, but I wasn't sure I'd like it as a career," Dr Blum said.

He also knew he could always go back to music if he did not like medicine, he said, but he was not sure he would be able to do the reverse so easily.

Dr Blum said he liked the idea of having a job with purpose that allowed him to work with others.

So, he began his studies at the University of Melbourne.

Choosing a specialty was a much easier decision for Dr Blum, now the clinical director of Bendigo Health's oncology unit and the Loddon Mallee Integrated Cancer Service.

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Oncology was the second-last rotation for Dr Blum in his third year of training, and he said he loved the camaraderie of the wards, realising it was something he wanted to be a part of.

Dr Blum said he also liked that oncologists had a very intimate relationship with their patients and there was a great appreciation for the work.

He recalls seeing some "miraculous results", including a woman with lymphoma who came into hospital unable to work, but after five days of treatment, was able to move about again.

Dr Blum completed a fellowship at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, where he spent three years.

When Bendigo's oncologist left, the health service approached Peter Mac and to run clinics and look after patients, and Dr Blum said he asked if he could attend those clinics.

Then, Bendigo Health's medical director at the time, Dr John Ferguson, asked Dr Blum if he would like to stay on as director of the oncology department.

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Dr Blum said accepted on the understanding one of his colleagues would come with him - but they then got a position with Peter Mac, so he had to do it alone.

The unit was much smaller then, he said, but it was an intimidating prospect.

"It was still daunting, because I was 34 at that stage, with a young family," Dr Blum said.

"Previously I had been a fellow, but there's a lot of responsibility that comes with running a unit."

Seventeen years on, Dr Blum continues to head up the unit.

Part of the reason he stayed on, he said, was because of the high degree of autonomy it provided: sometimes in larger metropolitan organisations, it was harder to "make your own mark".

Dr Blum said he had also made a commitment to the team.

"I really felt like I could see there was capacity to grow the service and have a significant impact on what you were doing," he said.

When Dr Blum joined Bendigo Health, the oncology unit had a single oncologist plus nurses, pharmacists and allied health workers.

It now has several oncologists, haematology and genetics services, survivorship programs and multidisciplinary teams, housed in a purpose-built setting in the new hospital.

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Dr Blum said this progress was attributable to the dedicated staff.

"That capacity to believe it will happen, it's gold," he said.

Bendigo has also held appeal for the lifestyle it offers.

Dr Blum said it gave him the ability to stay involved in aspects of family life that he would have missed had he stayed in Melbourne.

As it so happens, Bendigo was the city where Dr Blum met his wife Kate.

He was a medical resident on a three-month rotation in Bendigo, and he was invited to participate in the medical revue, a performing arts event.

Originally he was not planning on going, but eventually made that fateful decision to attend, and the pair ended up meeting.

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Dr Blum said his wife was a rock and there was "no way" he could have done the things he did without her.

"She is the absolute foundation to everything I do," he said.

Today, the couple have two children: Myles, who is studying engineering and commerce at Monash University, and Spencer, who is doing his VCE.

While Dr Blum made the decision to build a career in medicine, his keen interest in music has always remained.

Dr Blum sits on the Ulumbarra Foundation board and has brought music into the Bendigo Cancer Centre through the music and art therapy program.

He still plays piano and learnt the cello in his 40s; he also likes to sing, and continues to perform.

"For me, music is life-giving," Dr Blum said.

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