“We have to approach the matter of creating successful drug combinations as a jigsaw puzzle of sorts,” he adds. “If one can’t put the pieces in the right place and in the right order one will surely fail. Our lab work facilitates the process. Physicians must act as integrators, continuously testing and exploring new options. There are critical step-wise development systems for solving puzzles.”
Well before Dr. Bruckner’s first clinical research findings received endorsements from the Food and Drug Administration, patients who’d been told their cases were hopeless sought his care.
Dr. Bruckner notes that most of his patients are referred to him by various foundations, industry experts, and patient advocate organizations. “My patients are definitely ahead of the curve as it pertains to advances in science and medicine. Many have undertaken extensive research before they even arrive at my office. They are exceptionally sophisticated; some have their own research teams and come in with printouts, advocates, and referral specialists.”
He also uses immunotherapy, sometimes simultaneously with the chemo, more often after the chemo has already had a positive effect, creating an ideal environment for the immunotherapy.
Dr. Bruckner recalls his surprise the first time a surgical chief at a New York hospital told him, “You have turned these cancers into chronic diseases.” He went back to his files and realized the survival rates were even better than he’d assumed.
Although he describes himself as “very realistic,” Dr. Bruckner brings a spirit of hope and optimism to his work because, he explains, “I have so often helped patients after others had given up. I try to look at the big picture, and to me that means that every day is positive. We try to impart that positivity to each patient.”
His objective and his mission, he says, are “to prolong every life I possibly can.” He acknowledges that as a human being “my capabilities are finite.” As such, “I beseech Hashem to give me the understanding and knowledge to be a shaliach for good and to assist in the healing process. I am exceptionally grateful to Him for what we have accomplished thus far.”
To learn more about Dr. Bruckner’s practice, visit his website at www.bruckneroncology.com.
