Comprehensive care tailored to your needs

Some breast problems don’t require surgery or long-term treatment. This clinic, staffed by a nurse practitioner, will help manage patients with these conditions.

Patients will be evaluated for clinical trial eligibility through the tumor board and routine screening. Enrollment in appropriate clinical trials is coordinated by the Adventist Health Glendale Office of Integrated Research.

Genetic counselors are available either on site or remotely to evaluate your risk of carrying of breast cancer mutations that increase your risk of having cancer. Testing for genetic mutations can be done either at home with a testing kit, or kits are available on site at The Sam and Grace Carvajal Comprehensive Breast Center.

These evaluations are performed by a nurse practitioner and a genetic counselor, and include exams, risk assessment, genetic counseling and testing, screening and follow-up for women at high risk for breast cancer.

In addition to more traditional treatment options such as chemotherapy and radiation, The Sam and Grace Carvajal Comprehensive Breast Center offers innovative new procedures such as cryoablation and intraoperative radiation therapy (IORT).

Cryoablation

Cryoablation is an office-based procedure that uses extreme cold to kill cancer cells and can be alternative to surgery for some patients. Studies have shown that cryoablation could enhance the ability of the immune system to recognize and attack cancer cells at both local and distant sites.

Intraoperative radiation therapy

IORT is done during surgery and directs high doses of radiation to the target area while affecting the surrounding tissue as little as possible. It is used to treat cancers that are difficult to remove during surgery and when it's possible that unseen cancer might remain.

The Sam and Grace Carvajal Comprehensive Breast Center utilizes the SOZO device, the world’s most advanced bioimpedance spectroscopy (BIS) device, to diagnose and assess lymphedema (arm swelling) in less than 30 seconds, both pre- and post-treatment.

Tumor boards are a treatment planning process with multidisciplinary team of experts meeting regularly to decide as a group on the best treatment plan for a patient.

Experts are continuously discovering related benefits of nutrition and exercise on cancer patients. We can help you build an evidence-based diet and exercise program that will help maximize the effects of your treatment.

Cancer treatment can be complicated. If you are having difficulty navigating or have questions about the process, our patient navigator has resources that can help. Among other things, the patient navigator aims to help you overcome barriers that interfere with your access to timely cancer care.

We can help you find resources for your mental health, including counseling, support groups, cosmetic and prosthesis services, and more. Talking with a counselor or other cancer survivors can help you process and manage the psychological aspects of your disease.

Survivorship planning organizes your treatment history as well as recommended follow-ups into a plan and is given to you after treatment. Many aspects of survivorship planning, including psychosocial support, ongoing lymphedema screening, nutritional support, exercise oncology and more, are available through the Sam and Grace Carvajal Comprehensive Breast Center. The survivorship clinic provides a place for breast cancer survivors to receive ongoing follow-up care.

Specialists practicing on-site at The Sam and Grace Carvajal Comprehensive Breast Center include breast surgeons, genetic counselors, medical breast specialists and plastic/reconstructive surgeons. Priority is given to providing urgent appointments to newly diagnosed breast cancer patients.