About FLOW

On a recent trip to Yosemite National Park and surrounding lakes I was reminded of the immense power of FLOW. Glacial flow, advancing and retreating, carved out the sheer granite cliff face of the stunning Yosemite Valley. This granite itself was once molten rock flow, bursting up from the earth's inner center, hardening and cooling under the overlying layers of sedimentary rock, which was then eroded away by the flow of the elements-snow, wind and rain. The flow from annual snow melt creates the breathtaking waterfalls, cascading down those cliffs. The flow of thermal air currents up and down those same cliffs provide the lift needed for falcons to soar in effortless circles as they patrol the valley floor for food.

Returning to Los Angeles, I am reminded of the gravitational pull of the moon as it draws the ebb and flow of the tides. Billions of gallons of sea water rising and falling along our beaches. Or something as small and seemingly simple as the flow of breath into and out of our lungs.

I say “reminded” because often we become so swept up in the business and drama of our urban landscape that we forget these basic truths. FLOW is a universal principle. It molds our physical world and is essential to the health and well-being of our physical body- but it is also an essential principle for the mind and spirit.

FLOW means movement, the opposite of stagnation. This movement allows renewal, replenishment and balance. Resistance to FLOW-on any of these levels- is the origin on dis-ease. Build a dam across a river and you will have flooding upstream and drought downstream. The human body is no different. I believe that manifesting the principle of FLOW in all aspects of our lives is essential to attaining meaningful health, wellness, and ultimately happiness.

FLOW-Integrative Women's Wellness Practice is a place where it is recognized that health, balance and wellness come through cultivating awareness of the Self, identifying areas in our lives where we might be feeling resistance to FLOW, and taking an inclusive, integrative approach to releasing these areas of resistance.

What is Integrative Medicine?

I am not a massage therapist, acupuncturist, herbalist or Shaman. If I had unlimited time and skills I might desire to become all of these things but so far, in this lifetime, I am not.

I am a Medical Doctor, a graduate of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, trained in a residency program in Obstetrics and Gynecology, and further completing a Board-approved fellowship in Gynecologic Oncology at UCLA and Cedars-Sinai Medical Centers. As such, my background and training has thoroughly prepared me in the diagnosis and treatment via pharmaceutical or surgical means of a certain range of conditions involving the female reproductive tract. However, I have yet to see a case where this alone brings about health and wellness. I am pleased to offer to share my skills as a physician, but I believe strongly that these skills will only be effective with the active participation of the patient.

To accomplish this, we agree that you are an essential partner in your own healing.

I have collected a group of extremely loving and gifted individuals- my “advisory board”- who are experts in a number of disciplines that might be considered “complementary” to the Western Medical Model. Taking a highly individualized approach, you and I decide which of these modalities we might explore as we delve into the root cause of a dis-ease, or simply seek to optimize health and wellness.

I also have relationships with like-minded medical and surgical specialists in other fields in case we encounter a medical need that falls outside the scope of my training.

If surgery is necessary, we embrace that and we proceed with surgery. If it is not, we don't. This holds true for pharmaceuticals and any other intervention.

Gynecology

We seek to provide an environment where women feel completely safe and comfortable, where no topic is taboo, where every question is met with a thoughtful, sensitive and comprehensive answer. Learning about our anatomy, we better understand ways it gives us pleasure and ways it causes us grief. Utilizing a wide array of traditional and complementary modalities, we seek to optimize women's health and wellness related to all gynecologic concerns.

Gynecologic Oncology

This sub-specialty is related to cancers and “pre-cancers” of the female reproductive system. This includes cancers of the ovaries, fallopian tubes, uterus, cervix, vagina and vulva. I am a fellowship-trained gynecologic oncologist, with training in advanced minimally-invasive surgical techniques including laparoscopy and robotic surgery.

Receiving a diagnosis of cancer is life-changing, but it does not have to be earth-shattering. Using an integrative oncologist's approach to the treatment of these cancers we can work together to journey through this experience in ways that may be surprising.

FLOW-Integrative Women's Wellness Practice offers access to all of the same services you would find in a major academic center, but based from the relative tranquility of a private Doctor's office. We do all appropriate life-saving conventional cancer treatments and we add a uniquely individualized program of complementary therapies to improve the success of our treatment and prevent many of the unwanted side-effects.

Advanced Minimally Invasive Surgery

This section is currently under construction as we improve our website. For additional information about the Advanced Minimally Invasive Surgeries that we perform, please call us at 310-282-9900.

Caring for women with cancer is my highest honor. Please call or e-mail with any questions or to arrange a consultation to determine if this is the right fit for your needs.

If you should have any questions about our services or would like to set up an appointment with us, please call 310-282-9900 or click here for our online contact form.