What We Do Differently
	The Human Dimension
	Non-Medical Support Services

Major Elements
The following themes constitute the major elements of my philosophy of medicine:

1. Medicine is not simply a job, but far more than that. Medicine is a mission, a vocation, a calling. Medicine demands the total commitment of one person (the doctor) to another person (the patient). When a patient trusts the doctor with his life, it goes beyond mere responsibility and total commitment; it takes nobility. The relationship between a doctor and his patient should not only be sacred, but almost divine. In this relationship, the doctor should ask himself what is best for the patient. The doctor's primary concern should be about protection of the patient's life rather than protection of the doctor's legal rights. This relationship is unique because in no other human enterprise is the relationship that deep, that unique, that sacred.
2. When we treat patients, we do not simply treat a disease in a patient, but we treat a person who has a disease. This holistic approach involves far more than treating the disease, it involves treating all of the psychological turmoil that comes with the disease. It involves treatment of the fear, anguish, confusion and anger that accompany the diagnosis of cancer. Treatment of the disease itself is often less problematic and less time-consuming than the treatment of these emotional problems. The treatment of such problems takes more than giving a pill or an injection. It takes time, understanding, compassion, warmth, and above all, love. Love is an integral component of the equation; without it, it is impossible to deliver care to the total person.
3. For a doctor to deliver the best possible care, he must be extremely knowledgeable and have the most current medical research and data at his fingertips. The scientific content of treatment cannot be over-emphasized for it is the major core responsible for the success of therapy and for the triumph of life over death. Scientific knowledge probably constitutes the most important element in the relationship between the doctor and the patient. Another major element in the doctor-patient relationship is for the doctor to recognize the limits of his own knowledge and to seek consultation with his colleagues. Modern medicine depends to a great extent on group consultations and team management rather than an individual doctor's efforts. In the treatment of cancer, obtaining a second opinion through a group consultation with other specialists is of paramount importance and the best way is to guarantee the quality of care. The treating physician should be humble enough to know his limitations and obtain these consultations because they are in the best interest of the patient. I believe one of the key elements in our practice is our accessibility to group consultations with experts from different fields of medicine.
4. The patient should always be treated as a dignified human being, as one of our loved ones, as a member of our family, as a friend, as somebody we love and somebody we know. He should never be handled like a number or a statistical equation. Therapy should always be delivered in a family atmosphere and in a highly personalized manner. We should never subject patients to research protocols for the service of medicine; we should always subject medicine to the service of patients. Even with clinical trials and patients who receive research protocol treatments, the treatment should be in the best interest of the patient. The patient should be treated in the most dignified manner, in a personalized, warm and human climate. There is nothing more devastating to the patient than being treated like a research subject.