UKIAH >> The Cancer Treatment and Infusion Center at Ukiah Valley Medical Center recently welcomed Hengbing Wang, MD, Hematologist and Oncologist, and is now seeing patients at 260 Hospital Drive, Suite 207 in Ukiah.
If you were to ask a physician what attracted them to Ukiah, many might say the perfect weather, the vineyards, mountains, or coast. For Dr. Wang, it’s something deeper: his spiritual beliefs. Growing up in China and practicing Buddhism, Wang is excited at the opportunity to instill the same beliefs and values in his children by attending the well-known Instilling Goodness Elementary School at the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas (CTTB) in Talmage. So they packed all their bags, drove over 2,000 miles, visiting famous sites along the way to come to Ukiah.
“We’ve always wanted to move to Ukiah. We spent two summers here and really enjoyed it. The CTTB is a great place for my children and the Cancer Treatment and Infusion Center is the perfect place for me to work. Definitely a win-win for us,” Wang stated.
Wang is board-certified in internal medicine, hematology and medical oncology. As a hematologist and oncologist, he specializes and treats a full-range of blood disorders and cancers, with special interest in lung cancer and genitourinary melanoma. “Smoking is very common in our area and lung cancer kills more people in the United States than breast, prostate and all other cancers combined. But nowadays, improvement in early detection, emphasis on smoking cessation and advancements in developing novel therapies are helping improve the quality of life for our patients.”
Wang has a strong background in cancer research and comes to us from the University of Minnesota School of Medicine, where he completed his fellowship in hematology, oncology and transplantation. He practiced for three years at Hubert Humphrey Cancer Center in Minneapolis before moving to Ukiah. When asked what a patient can expect from his care, Wang says personalized and compassionate care. “Cancer is a difficult journey and as a physician, I want to do everything I can to make our patients understand the disease process. I like to treat my patients like family.”
Wang says another important part about his job is being able to learn from his patients, “I’m very excited at how fast this field is developing with new drugs and technology and part of that is due to our patients, they help us learn more every day.”
“It is very rewarding for me that my work is meaningful for patients during the most difficult time of their life,” he added.
Wang will be joined in Ukiah by his wife Yang Liu and their two children. In his free time, Wang loves spending time with the family, golfing and hiking.
For information on the Ukiah Valley Medical Center, call 463.7627 or visit www.uvmc.org.
