Celilo’s outstanding staff and innovative whole-person approach to patient care has attracted another distinguished cancer specialist to the area. Hematology/medical oncologist Steve Fu, M.D., Ph.D., joined Celilo’s medical staff in November, after spending the last two years in practice at The Corvallis Clinic.
In addition to his patient care experience, Dr. Fu has been involved in cancer research for several years. His expertise will allow for the expansion of Celilo’s hematology/oncology services and clinical research program.
“Dr. Fu’s training and expertise make him an outstanding addition to the Celilo medical staff,” says Samuel Taylor, M.D. Celilo’s medical director of medical oncology.
Born in mainland China, Dr. Fu received his medical degree from China Medical University in Shenyang, before moving to the U.S. in 1990. He was involved in basic cancer research at the University of California, San Diego, when he decided to pursue his doctorate degree, which he earned from UCSD in 1998.
After his doctoral studies, Dr. Fu completed an internal medicine residency at Brown University, then a three-year hematology/oncology fellowship at Harvard University’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
“I enjoyed the basic research, but not the lack of patient contact,” Dr. Fu says. “Patient care allowed me to make more sense of the research.’
Though he previously was unfamiliar with Celilo, Dr. Fu says he was immediately impressed with the innovative center and its professional staff.
“After meeting with Drs. Taylor and Keith Stelzer (medical director of radiation oncology), and Nina Van Es (oncology nurse practitioner), I was really impressed with the high-quality of people on the staff,” he says. “The facility was state-of-the-art, also, and I came away with the feeling that the entire community had really made a strong commitment to taking care of cancer patients.”
Dr. Fu says he also was taken by Celilo’s comprehensive whole-person approach to treating patients. “Too often the attention is placed on treating the disease and not the person,” he says. “But Celilo’s multidisciplinary approach to treating the patients’ physical and mental needs is very unique.”
Dr. Fu and his wife Angie have two sons.