William Jeffrey Petty, MD
Dr. William Petty is a medical oncologist and hematologist in the department of Medical Oncology at the Wake Forest Medical Center and Wake Forest Comprehensive Cancer Center. As Director of the Thoracic Oncology program, he specializes in treating patients diagnosed with lung cancer and malignant pleural mesothelioma.
Dr. Petty’s philosophy on taking care of patients with lung cancer is to try to understand the patient first, to understand where they are in their lives, where their families are, as well as where the disease is. He says, “Sometimes the challenges with facing lung cancer have to do not only with the prognosis but also the prospect of taking on treatments and what that means for a patient and their family. I try to provide the best care for every patient, but that’s different for every patient.”[1]
Education and Career
Dr. Petty earned his bachelor of arts degree at Harvey Mudd College, then earned his medical degree at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine. He completed his internship and residency in Internal Medicine at Duke University Hospital and followed that program with a fellowship in Medical Oncology at Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital at the Dartmouth Cancer Center.[1]
Dr. Petty is board-certified in Internal Medicine and Medical Oncology. In addition to his medical practice, he is a Professor of Hematology and Oncology and an Associate Professor of Cancer Biology at the Bowman Gray School of Medicine of Wake Forest University.
Research
Dr. Petty’s research interest began with investigating new strategies for treating lung cancer through the study of cell culture models and other bench laboratory techniques. That early work prepared him for today’s innovations in the treatment of lung cancer, including understanding the genetics of a cancer and how a cancer develops so that its weaknesses can be targeted.
Professional Memberships[1]
- American Society of Clinical Oncology
- American Association of Cancer Research
- American College of Chest Physicians
