The Beverly Hills Cancer Center is not your standard medical facility.
"We've built this center from the ground up to have a very patient-centric environment," said Sharon Gabayan, vice president of business strategy and marketing.
The facility features lots of natural light and open areas. The center is painted in soothing hues and strives to be as comfortable as possible for patients dealing with a very scary disease.
"We just don't treat a disease, we treat the whole patient. We take their mind, body and soul into consideration," said Gabayan.
While western medicine is the main approach to treatment, the center also offers acupuncture, massage, psychotherapy and nutritional services to help the healing process.
Equipped with state-of-the-art equipment, the center can handle most treatment and testing on site.
"For the radiation therapy, for the chemotherapy, for the laboratory and all of the imaging, it's all under one roof," said oncologist Dr. Eli Gabayan.
Not having to travel to different offices appeals to patients such as Margie Shum, who is battling a rare nasal cancer.
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"It's just the convenience for me," said Shum. "…everything's in one building. Not to have to go to two separate buildings, two separate facilities, drive, get in the car, cause you get tired, your body is tired from the treatment."
And for women who lose their hair during treatment, the Beverly Hills Cancer Center has teamed up with Amy Gibson of Hair.com to help women find just the right wig.
"When a woman feels good about herself again, then the healing process is a lot easier. So I try to walk them through this process, which is so frightening," said Gibson.
And it's these kinds of services that make patients feel better about the treatment.
"It has been a great experience, not a good experience for my sickness, but the facility is great," said Shum.
