Last February, National Public Radio featured an exclusive interview with Dr. Michael Lill, medical director of Cedars-Sinai Outpatient Cancer Center at the Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute, and the center’s head of the bone marrow transplant program.

Dr. Lill got NPR’s ‘superhero’ label for having developed an unusual program for patients who are members of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Observing the sect’s religious protocol, Dr. Lill applies a technique that enables patients to receive bone marrow transplants without the blood transfusions their religion prohibits. Though not the first of its kind - the University of Pennsylvania performs the same technique - CSOCC is the only facility that performs it on the West Coast.

In a recent interview, Dr. Lill spoke about having a great sense of empathy for cancer patients. As a cancer survivor himself, he underscored the importance of understanding the spiritual aspects and technical considerations involved in treating patients whose religions prohibit the very things that could potentially cure them. For Dr. Lill, the profound impact of patient care arises not just from doing the right thing, but from the genuine desire to help others.

In your profession, was there ever a time when it became a choice between clinical protocol and a deeply held religious belief, and you’ve had to insist on the former?

Legally, it’s a form of assault to insist on treatment that’s inconsistent with one’s religious convictions without the patient’s consent, unless it is an emergency situation and there is no way to obtain consent. Personally, it’s not just about doing the right thing, but delivering care out of a desire to help others, regardless of their religious beliefs. I see healthcare as a basic good, entirely faith-neutral.

How do you ensure that patients’ treatment conforms to their ethical or religious directives?

Foremost is sympathy and respect for the individual. In addition, healthcare professionals at the center are trained to be sensitive to religious nuances so as not to offend patients.

As someone who has faced the disease, do you now have a different view of cancer and its treatment?

I definitely have more sympathy for the uncertainties patients go through, and understand the aggravation and frustrations of day-to-day treatment, including overwhelming fatigue. I’m also more sensitive to the physician’s challenge of making decisions with not a whole lot of supporting data. But there’s reason to be optimistic. I’m receiving ongoing active treatment and am very excited, from both patient and provider perspectives, about the development of new cancer drugs. There are more and more options for patients with cancer, and the rate of new drug development is accelerating. It is vital to find a sympathetic and competent doctor who is up to speed on the latest advances in cancer care, and who practices in the kind of caring and empathic environment exemplified by the Aptium cancer center model.