Colon cancer is the second leading cause of death from cancer in the United States and the third most common cancer in both men and women, according to the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention.

On Tuesday, Turlock’s Emanuel Specialty Care announced the arrival of General Surgeon Dr. Zhong Wang, who specializes in colorectal surgery.

Dr. Wang has completed a fellowship in colorectal surgery at the Southern Illinois School of Medicine. Prior to that he completed his surgical residency at Brooklyn Hospital Center in New York from 2006 to 2012.

“I chose to specialize in surgery because as a surgeon you can make an immediate impact,” Dr. Wang said. “Surgeons solve problems quickly and for patients our work has an immediate effect and reward when you treat an injury, remove a cancer or remove the source of an infection.”

Dr. Wang received his advanced training in colorectal surgery under the guidance of eight surgeons and he will perform minimally invasive surgery such as laparoscopic colon resection and robotic colorectal surgery. He will also hold screenings, surveillance and therapeutic colonoscopy.

“The diseases of colon, rectum and anus are very common,” he said. “They range from minor conditions such as hemorrhoids, constipation, rectal bleeding and fissures, to major diseases such as colon cancer, rectal cancer, diverticulitis and inflammatory bowel disease.”

Originally from Sichuan, China, Dr. Wang received his Bachelor of Medicine in 1994 from West China University and his Doctor of Medicine in 2000. From 2000 to 2006, he was a post-doctoral research fellow at the University of Pittsburgh. And after Pennsylvania and Illinois, he’s looking forward to settling down in California.

“Turlock is a nice town to raise my family, and I like the weather,” he said. “Since there is no colorectal fellowship-trained surgeon in this area, I’m looking forward to bringing my skills to serve the people here.”

Dr. Wang is married and enjoys tennis.