I met Dr. Chawla when I went in to the Tarzana Women's Center to get a biopsy after an abnormal…read moremammogram. Dr. Chawla sat down with me before the procedure, showed me the films, explained what he was going to do step by step and made sure any of my questions were answered. Throughout the procedure (where you have to lie still for quite a bit of time and they are sticking a needle into your breast, for Chrissakes), he made sure to check in with me repeatedly to let me know what he was doing, what he'd be doing next, how it would feel and to check that I was comfortable. Afterward, I told him I had a lot more questions but that I would wait until he called with my diagnosis to ask them. He said he would be happy to answer my questions now. I met him in his office after the procedure and we sat and talked for about a half an hour. He never made me feel like he needed to be somewhere else. He also didn't try to sugar coat anything for me. He was compassionate and yet also clear that what he saw on my films was worrisome to him. He showed me the different views, magnified them, showed me the views of the samples he took and explained everything to me for as long as it took and until I ran out of questions for him. I mean, they weren't just radiology questions. They started to get into questions about pathology, about the causes of breast cancer, why me, and so forth. He never made me feel like my questions were dumb or that I was wasting his time. He acted the way someone in his position - at the front line, someone who tells women for the very first time that they have breast cancer - should act: with compassion, clarity and respect. I have no family history of breast cancer and had never in a million years thought I would be having this conversation with a doctor, but thank goodness it was Dr. Chawla because he made it as easy as possible to hear what I was hearing, that I very likely had breast cancer. He assured me he'd call me the next day with my diagnosis. He did and, sure enough, the sample came back positive. He talked to me about my options and recommended I meet with a breast surgeon and get an MRI. While my OBGYN did not really help at all even though I was just diagnosed with BREAST CANCER, Dr. Chawla insisted I could call or email him any time with questions. I usually don't take doctors up on these things, but I am usually not diagnosed with breast cancer so I did. I emailed him about how to collect my path and imaging records so that I could meet with surgeons. I emailed him to ask about the politics of why nobody would order me an MRI. I emailed him to get recommendations for breast surgeons. I emailed to ask about my pathology report and could he please interpret it for me. Each time I wrote him, he answered quickly and took the time to answer thoughtfully. He gave me invaluable (doctor, not internet) information. He's even agreed to write a note for my mom so she can cancel her vacation to help me recover after my cancer surgery. He seems genuinely interested in my updating him on my condition, my status and my choice of a surgical team. I have never in my life met a doctor who is so accessible, informative and compassionate when, frankly, once he's done reading my mammogram, taking the biopsy and giving me my diagnosis, his job is done. The way he's treated me and continues to, long after I've left his care, has shown that he does not consider his work done just because a patient has left his office and, in my mind, this is how every doctor should think.
Most importantly, in all of my ramblings about his patient-centered approach to medical care, I've neglected to mention that Dr. Chawla is a really competent radiologist - fellowship trained - and he saves lives for a living, mine included.
