Edna Baradas was nearing the end of her pregnancy when she found a lump. She asked doctors to delay telling her the results of their tests, and it wasn't until shortly after daughter Ella's birth that Edna learned she had breast cancer.
Receiving the news she had cancer so soon after the birth of her child was a shock. "I just remember thinking, 'Oh, what if I'm not around?'" Edna says. She turned for help to the Revlon/UCLA Breast Center. There, the specialists who would be involved in her care - from the radiologist who would read her scans and the pathologist who would review her slides to the medical radiation oncologist and breast surgeon - work within close walking distance to each other, easing the burden on patients who must be seen by many different specialists during the course of their treatment.
Edna and her medical team opted for removal of both her breasts, followed immediately by reconstruction using a flap of Edna's own abdominal tissue. "We had to remove the cancer, but at the same time reconstruct her [to] avoid the sense of loss for her as far as her body image," says plastic and reconstructive surgeon Jaco Festekjian, M.D. "The most aesthetic and good-looking outcomes are the ones that are done immediately at the time of the mastectomy."
For Edna, the entire experience was something of a "whirlwind," but she says the care and compassion she received at the Breast Center helped to guide her to the decisions that were right for her. "When I think of my hopes and dreams for our family, I just know I'll be around that long," she says.
After a third diagnosis of breast cancer, I knew that my breast cancer experience required evaluation and insight by a center of excellence backed by scientific research, superior clinical outcomes, and an innovative academic environment. While I had initially sought the services of Revlon/UCLA Breast Center for its commitment to medical excellence, I walked away from the experience through my interactions with the entire team feeling like a renewed and fortified woman-mind, body, and spirit.
-Marie LaFargue-
We sought our breast cancer care with Dr. Chang at the Revlon/UCLA Breast Center a year ago. After our first meeting, we left her office that day as different people than when we arrived. Dr. Chang is a straight shooter with clear facts supported by her vast knowledge and experience. Her skills as a surgeon are legendary in the breast cancer community. When we were terrified, her coaching and compassion touched us. We are fortunate to have been given the gift of Dr. Chang and this world class team at the Revlon/UCLA Breast Center.
-Mary & John Sipple-
The Revlon/UCLA Breast Center offered me a place where I felt surrounded by comfort and support.
-Sherry Goldman-
