Wong Seng Weng

Wong Seng Weng is a Singaporean physician and oncologist. He currently serves as Medical Director and Consultant at The Cancer Centre of Singapore Medical Group.

Studies

Medicine was Dr. Wong's first choice, with his second choice being accounting. He decided at age 17 to study for a career in medicine. Dr. Wong reported that he decided to specialize in oncology because "I wanted to make a difference in people's lives by dealing with the things closest to our hearts: life and death. Looking after patients afflicted with a catastrophic disease is dealing with life and death at its most intense." In another interview he also reported that he "didn't want to just focus on one organ day after day. Oncology is one such discipline because it affects the entire body. So you have to understand the entire system to treat the patient."

Dr Wong obtained his basic medical degree from the National University of Singapore. He completed his post-graduate training in Internal Medicine and obtained his Membership of the Royal College of Physicians of the United Kingdom. Thereafter, he achieved Specialist Accreditation with the Ministry of Health Singapore and was admitted as Fellow of the Academy of Medicine of Singapore and College of Physicians of Singapore.

Career

Dr. Wong specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of adult cancers with special interest in breast, lung and gastrointestinal cancers.

After his studies, Dr. Wong practiced at the National University Hospital and was appointed clinical tutor in oncology at National University of Singapore. Apart from pursuing his clinical practice, Dr. Wong was involved as an investigator in over twenty clinical trials exploring new methods of cancer treatment. He previously held the posts of Consultant Medical Oncologist and Senior Partner in Raffles Hospital in charge of all oncology services at Raffles Hospital.

Dr. Wong’s clinical practice is at The Cancer Centre, a Singapore Medical Group Clinic located at Paragon, Mount Elizabeth Novena Specialist Centre and Gleneagles Hospital.

Apart from his practice at The Cancer Centre, Dr Wong is currently also a visiting consultant of the National University Hospital where he is a tutor for medical oncologists-in-training. He is a visiting consultant of Mount Elizabeth Hospital, Gleneagles Hospital, Mount Alvernia Hospital and Raffles Hospital. In the area of research, he holds the appointment of Adjunct Clinician Scientist of the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN) in the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR). He regularly writes columns for local newspapers and appears on television programs to educate the public about cancer.

Dr Wong is an active member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) and the Singapore Society of Oncology. He sits on the editorial advisory board of the regional oncology newspaper Oncology Tribune.

Having practiced for more than 18 years, he has seen and treated numerous cancer cases and believes every case is one-of-a-kind. "Although the diagnosis and condition of patients may be similar, each patient’s character, EQ, emotional reactions, fears, and social backgrounds are different, therefore making every case unique and individualized."

To help cancer patients with their nutritional issues, Dr. Wong worked with Singaporean celebrity chef Eric Teo on a book titled Cancer Cancel: Live Right & Eat Well which was released December 2013. The 301-page book tackles cancer myths and features dishes both for the general public and cancer patients. Some of the recipes were taste-tested by cancer patients. Recipes occupy about a quarter of the book, with the rest educating readers about cancer, using analogies and patient stories to "put a human face to the subject". He is working on another book aimed at debunking myths about cancer.

Personal life

Dr. Wong is married to another physician and has one daughter. He speaks Mandarin and English.