From Cancer Researcher to Bridge Builder: The Personal Story of Prof. Dr. Joachim Drevs

What really shapes a doctor as a person? In an interview with the Swiss health channel QS24, Prof. Dr. Joachim Drevs talks about his unusual path, from cancer research, through personal setbacks, to his current practice for integrative oncology. A conversation that shows why, for him, medicine must build bridges rather than walls.

What is the interview about?

In this new interview series, viewers do not meet the professor or the scientist, but the person Joachim Drevs. He speaks openly about:

• his childhood in a family of doctors and his path into medical school
• the formative years he spent in New York, South Africa and Switzerland
• his pioneering work in cancer research and the disillusionment he felt once science gave way to business
• a personal blow that turned him from doctor into family member of a patient
• building, and then losing, a clinic of his own
• why he now sees himself as a bridge builder between conventional and integrative medicine

From a young boy in Constance to a cancer researcher

Joachim Drevs was born into a family of doctors by Lake Constance, both grandparents were doctors, his father was a doctor, and he was the eldest of five brothers. The midwife at his birth is said to have remarked, "A little professor has just been born." A prediction that stayed with him for a long time, even though, at first, it did not seem to fit him at all.

The decisive push for his future path came from his longtime mentor Prof. Nagel, former president of the German Cancer Society, who guided him towards oncology early on and opened the door to several formative stints abroad:

• New York: a year of highly advanced medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital
• South Africa: work in a hospital during the abolition of apartheid, a complete contrast to that highly advanced medicine
• Zurich: his first encounter with alternative medical approaches at the Bircher Clinic

Step by step, the young student with his own doubts about his path grew into the internationally recognised oncologist he is today.

Pioneering work in cancer research – and a bitter lesson

Already during his doctoral thesis, Drevs was able to contribute to the development of a new cancer drug. That experience sparked a fascination with research that would stay with him for the rest of his career. Later, he became one of the pioneers worldwide of what are known as angiogenesis inhibitors, drugs that block the formation of new blood vessels in tumours. What was first met with scepticism at conferences is now one of the most successful drug classes in the pharmaceutical industry.

The closer such a drug came to market readiness, the more clearly he saw how strongly economic forces shape drug development, often regardless of what would actually make the most medical sense. An experience that led him to think deeply about the structures of his own profession.

From doctor to family member: a personal turning point

Alongside his professional development, Drevs went through a profound personal experience within his own family that unexpectedly moved him from the role of doctor to that of a worried family member. Suddenly he had to fight hopelessness, rigid boundaries within the system and pessimism himself, and look for solutions in unconventional ways.

This experience changed his view of medicine for good. He felt first hand how patients and their families can experience the system, often feeling powerless, with little room for real involvement in decisions.

A clinic of his own, and money again

A bold step followed. Rather than pursuing the classic career of a senior consultant or university professor, Drevs built his own clinic together with a private investor, with international study centres and patients travelling in from all over the world. Despite promising results, the project ultimately ran into a problem that would follow him throughout his career: what works medically does not always translate into a viable business.

"Success is not measured by how well a drug works, but by the money it brings back."

The search phase: looking for the right path

After this setback, Drevs went through an intense period of searching that took him through very different areas of medicine, from alternative approaches to the pharmaceutical industry and university based rehabilitation medicine. Each of these stations reinforced one conviction: neither pure conventional medicine nor a one sided alternative approach does justice to the individual patient. What is needed is connection, not rigid camps.

Integrative oncology: a practice in Sickte

When his father passed away, Drevs took over the family's general practice in Sickte in Lower Saxony, a practice that had been running since 1950 across three generations. There, he now combines rural primary care with his specialised practice for integrative oncology, where he brings in his own approaches, developed over many years.

His approach is to see conventional medicine and complementary, scientifically grounded methods not as opposites, but as parts of one combined concept, tailored to each individual patient.

His vision for the future of oncology

Asked what he hopes for the future of cancer medicine, Drevs answers clearly:

• patients and therapists should approach each other with more openness instead of dismissing one another
• patients should be actively included in tumour board discussions instead of only being informed of decisions made without them
• treatment decisions should be made individually, with patients taking genuine responsibility for their own choices
• the healthcare system needs new ways of compensating doctors so that time for patient conversations becomes financially viable

How all these stations, setbacks and insights eventually shaped the mindset of a bridge builder is something Prof. Dr. Joachim Drevs tells best himself.

Curious to learn more? You can watch the full interview here.