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| Number 40, October 2012 |
Pacific Naturopathic Newsletter2570 W. El Camino Real � Suite 111 � Mountain View, CA 94040 � (650) 917-1121
www.PacificNaturopathic.com
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Are You Being Zapped? How External Factors Undermine Your Health
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| Greetings!
When we turn on our computers and go on-line in our Mountain View office or home, our Network Preferences menu shows us the signals of an astounding number of wireless routers. Add these transmissions to cell phone radiation, the various cell phone transmission microwaves and the electromagnetic fields created by electric wires, machinery and appliances, and you begin to wonder what effect the multitude of energies we experience has on our physical, spiritual and mental/emotional health. Then add to this overflowing electrical brew a few environmental toxins, like agricultural, industrial and pharmaceutical chemicals and heavy metals, and modern medical diagnosis becomes a maze-like nightmare of new disease syndromes and poor understandings about multiple causal factors. Here's how we look at it.
Twenty years ago when we were practicing in Vermont, our patients presented with acute conditions like colds, sore throats and ear infections, and chronic conditions like hypothyroid, colitis, arthritis and cardiovascular challenges. Yes, we did also treat cancer, depression, anxiety and life-threatening conditions. This spectrum of conditions is so different than what we treat now.
Patients still present with depression, anxiety and other mood disorders, but mostly gone from our practice are the colds and flus. We now see many cases so complex that conventional diagnostic methods don't always work. Severe fatigue. Complex, multi-faceted mood disorders. Total burnout. Strange pain syndromes. Foggy brain. Inability to focus. Poor memory. When modern medical science fails to find an answer, many people come to us, hoping we can provide insights. This has always seemed like a skewed process to us as naturopathic doctors. In an ideal system, people would come to us first and conventional physicians second as N.D.s can provide safer, more effective alternatives in many cases.
But our point is that the number and complexity of medical conditions has accelerated as our bodies and minds have become saturated with electrically-based contaminants, toxic chemicals and heavy metals.
At Pacific Naturopathic, we offer strategies and tools for helping you feel more energetic and clear headed. In many cases, it all begins with a gentle metabolic detox. Below, Dr. Corrine offers her thoughts on detoxification and offers incredible introductory rates for her evidence-based detox packages.
Also, Dr. Connie offers thoughts on electromagnetic fields, cell-phone radiation and microwaves. Dr. Marcel writes on how the nails can indicate the presence of heavy metals in the body and how the tongue can reveal how well body systems are functioning.
Finally,
we are continuing our offer for $25 tongue and fingernail analysis until December 31. So far, the response has been amazing! Over 60 of our readers have stopped in for short visits and have received, via email, our evaluations and suggestions.
--Dr. Connie and Dr. Marcel
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Schedule an Appointment:
| Pacific Naturopathic
2570 W. El Camino Real
Suite 111
Mountain View, CA 94040
650-917-1121
www.PacificNaturopathic.com
The clinic is open M-F 9am-5pm. The clinic is closed for lunch daily from 12:00 to 1:30 PM
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Dr. Connie's Musings...
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One of Dr. Connie's Favorite Places to Muse is at the
Pacific Naturopathic Retreat Center in Hawaii
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Zapped! Many years ago, I had two kittens, Zip and Zap. Zip was named for his speedy ways. Zap was named for the singed corners of his mouth, a result of tangling with an electric cord. Unlike kittens, we humans are taught from childhood of the dangers of being zapped by energy in the form of electricity, but many of us are only beginning to be aware of the dangers of energy in the form of wireless radiation.  The dawning awareness of the potential damage to human health is reflected in the concern about EMFs from WiFi, cell phones and cell towers, in the controversies surrounding back scatter scanning devices at airports, and in the recent protests re Smart Meter monitoring by PG&E. (Studies indicate that smart meters expose people to significantly higher radiation levels than cell phones and WiFi. And the World Health Organization has categorized the bursts of microwave RF radiation emitted by smart meters as a class 2B carcinogen.) In as much as the cells of our body both emit and communicate with each other through electromagnetic radiation, it is logical that external sources of radiation could disrupt the body's internal communication, with alarming negative consequences. From my perspective as a clinician, I find that the nature of the health complaints I hear from my patients has evolved over time. I started my practice prior to the advent of wide spread exposure to EMFs. Practicing in rural Vermont, I treated sore throats, ear infections, vaginitis, high cholesterol. While I do still hear that type of complaint, my current patients tend more to multi faceted complaints unresponsive to conventional treatment protocols...autoimmunity, insomnia, bewildering weight gain, endocrine and neurotransmitter imbalances, mood disturbances, and other complex issues. The odd thing is that patients with these complaints often do significantly better when spending time away from their computers and cell phones in those increasingly hard to find sanctuaries where our wonderfully helpful, yet addictive technology is behind the times or has been rejected. Food for thought!! |
Ten Tips For Coping With Electromagnetic Radiation Connie Hernandez, N.D. 
Realizing the pervasiveness and the potential dangers inherent in the smog of electromagnetic radiation that surrounds us, what can you do to minimize your exposure and to ameliorate negative effects? 1) Avoid those unnecessary medical procedures that involve medical radiation. See below (breast thermography at Pacific Naturopathic) for a discussion of what that might entail when screening for breast health. Know that, in emergency rooms across the country, doctors are realizing that CT scans, due to excess radiation on repeated exposure, should not necessarily be the go to diagnostic. In dentistry, request that any screening x rays be spaced further apart, and redone not as a routine, but when necessary. 2) Distasteful as it might be, opt for airport pat downs as opposed to screening by back scatter scanning devices. This is particularly important for pregnant women and small children. The European Union has banned body scanners that use radiation. We have not done so in the United States. When controversy exists as to the safety or potential for harm of new technologies, error on the side of procedures known to be safe. (Read Dr. Marcel's article on back scatter scanners.) 3) When possible, use your landline versus your cell phone. If you do use your cell phone, don't keep the phone in your clothes on your body. Use an air tube headset or speakerphone features. Cell phones are two-way microwave radiating devices. According to the Environmental Health Trust, cell phones are associated with brain tumors, salivary gland tumors, male infertility, hearing loss, tinnitus and more. Common symptoms people report when exposed to microwave radiation from cell phones and towers include chronic headaches, memory problems, dizziness, depression, anxiety, sleep disturbance and tremors. Correlations have been made with autism, ADH, hypertension, diabetes, fibromyalgia and cancer. Better safe than sorry. 4) Turn off the Wi-Fi and wireless routers when not using them. 5) Object to Smart Meters. 6) Explore which EMF protection devices might serve your needs. Devices have been developed for personal protection, protection from wireless routers, laptops and other wireless devices, and protection from home electricity and appliances. 7) Go to sleep reading from a book or magazine, rather than reading from your iPad, Kindle, or other electronic device. 8) Use energy medicines. Radinex is a type of homeopathic drainage remedy designed to ameliorate the effects of environmental radiation on the body. Yarrow Special Formula is a flower essence designed for the same purpose. 9) Align your electromagnetic field with the electromagnetic fields of the earth and water elements. Spend time in nature. Try walking barefoot on the earth or purifying yourself under a waterfall. 10) Take a vacation from EMFs. Frequent parks and campgrounds where your cell phone doesn't work. Take a vacation at Pacific Naturopathic Retreat Center. Find out more about Dr. Connie's consulting services at: |
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What Your Tongue Reveals
Updating an Ancient Art
 Long before the advent of modern Western medicine with its expensive, invasive diagnostic tests and procedures, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) perfected the art of direct observation of external signs for insights into internal conditions and processes. The human tongue has for thousands of years played a major part in TCM diagnosis and it is evident why this is so: it is the only internal organ that is visible without undergoing an invasive procedure.
Learning the basics of tongue analysis is not difficult. Refining your observations to come up with a coherent picture of what is occurring in the body is what takes practice. Like fingerprints, each tongue is genetically unique, and no two tongues present the same story. The beauty of tongue analysis is that it offers immediate information about what is happening in the body in the present moment.
Another aspect of tongue analysis is that changes in the appearance of the tongue can be used to monitor therapy. Since the tongue is a highly metabolic organ that sheds its coat every 72 hours or so, therapeutic protocol feedback can be immediate. You do not need to go to a laboratory for the feedback - all you have to do is look in the mirror.
Tongue analysis is not best utilized as a primary diagnostic tool; rather, it is a technique for garnering information about body systems. It is a supplement to conventional diagnosis insofar as it provides information on how a diagnosed condition affects the entire body. From this systemic perspective, tongue analysis may be used as a predictor of potential future problems.
 | | A Normal Tongue |
Although there is genetic variability in what is considered normal, the ideal tongue characteristics include a pale red or pink color with no discolored papillae, a shape that is neither thick nor thin, neither too big nor too small for the mouth, no cracks or crevices, moist but not dripping wet, neither slanting left nor right, a coating that is thin, white and almost transparent and sublingual veins that are not dark, branched, torturous or distended.
If you are interested in discovering what your tongue reveals, we encourage you to take advantage of the tongue and fingernail analysis special we are currently offering at Pacific Naturopathic. Make an appointment to come in and see us by December 31, and you will receive a detailed, written analysis as well as photos of your tongue and fingernails for only $25. This offer is open to all - you don't have to be a current patient at Pacific Naturopathic to participate.
To make an appointment for tongue and fingernail analysis, please phone Pacific Naturopathic at 650-917-1121. The appointment is only 20 minutes long.
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Heavy Metal Toxicity: the Nails Tell the Tale  Like tongue analysis, fingernail diagnosis has for millennia been one of the mainstays of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). TCM practitioners describe their observations of fingernail conditions within a framework of their own medical system, with its own unique vocabulary. "Deficient kidney chi," or "blood stagnation" are typical observations. The project Dr. Connie and I have embarked on is to describe fingernail (and tongue) observations with western medical terminology. We will also equate our fingernail analyses with our patients' lab results and medical histories and our own clinical observations. So "blood stagnation" might become "circulatory insufficiency with resulting hypo-oxygenation." Like TCM, we use fingernail analysis to indicate imbalance in a system, not as a diagnostic tool. Healthy nail beds are pink, indicating a rich blood supply. Changes or abnormalities in the nails are often the result of nutritional deficiencies or other underlying conditions. The nails can reveal a great deal about the body's internal health. Changes or abnormalities in the nails are often the result of nutritional deficiencies or other underlying conditions, including heavy metal deposits. In our work of building a tongue and fingernail database over the past couple of months, we been reminded of how rampant heavy metal toxicity is in modern society and the profound effects it has on health. (We write about heavy metal toxicity a bit in our featured product review, below.)  | |
Mee's Lines
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For example, Mees' lines, white bands paralleling the moons of the nail (lunulae) and going across the entire surface of the nail, appear after an episode of poisoning with arsenic, thallium or other heavy metals. These lines move as the nail grows. Mee's lines are also seen in carbon monoxide poisoning, Hodgkin's disease, congestive heart failure and in chemotherapy patients. A dark band around the lunulae (half moons at base of nails) indicates an accumulation of heavy metals, and purplish-blue lunulae may indicate Wilson's disease, a pathological accumulation of copper in the body. Would you like to have your tongue and fingernails evaluated? See coupon special below. Find out more about Dr. Marcel's work with men at: |
For a Limited Time
Initial Visit:
$25!
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TONGUE AND
FINGERNAIL ANALYSIS
Receive a written analysis, photos and recommendations
Establish a baseline for future evaluation
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Offer Expires: December 31, 2012
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This month's featured supplement...
Not Feeling Well But Don't Know What's Wrong?
You could have this under-diagnosed condition...
Heavy metal toxicity is under-diagnosed by conventional medical doctors. Toxic heavy metals include mercury, lead, cadmium, arsenic and about 30 others that are known to compromise human health when concentrated in the body.
Numerous studies indicate that heavy metal toxicity is a key contributor to mental/emotional instability, ADD, memory loss, behavior disorders, bipolar disease, neurological illnesses, tremors, chronic rashes, neuromuscular conditions, heart disease, asthma, and other conditions.
Because heavy metal toxicity has the ability to masquerade as various illnesses, a vast array of drugs are prescribed to alleviate symptoms without addressing the core issue. If the core issue is heavy metal toxicity, the only path to cure is chelation.
Chelation is a treatment in which heavy metals are flushed from the bloodstream by means of a chelating agent (like EDTA) that binds metal ions and carries them to excretion.
How do you know if you have heavy metal toxicity? The answer is that in modern society, almost everyone does. Most people could benefit from using a chelating agent for a prescribed period of time. There are also several ways to test for both chronic and acute exposure to heavy metals. If you are interested in investigating your heavy metal levels, please schedule an appointment with any of the docs at Pacific Naturopathic. Dr. Corrine (see her article, below) is presently offering special detox consultation "packages."
 Metal Flush is this month's featured supplement. Metal Flush is an oral chelating supplement, with NO side effects. The formula chelates the heavy metals without stripping essential trace elements and can safely be used long term and on children over 5 and the elderly. Dr. Chi describes Metal Flush as a major breakthrough for heavy metal chelation.
Metal Flush is available in our office to established patients only.
Main ingredients: Smilax, Sargassum
350 mg capsules. $40 bottle of 120 capsules.
Use two to three capsules, 2 to 3 times daily after meals.
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Profound Healing Through Gentle Detoxification
Many different factors in our environment can impact our health and cause different pollutants to find their way into our bodies. These include things we directly put into or onto our bodies, including the food we eat, the water we drink, and the soaps, shampoos, or lotions we use.
Other pollutants and chemicals may come from the air we breathe due to chemicals used in our workplace and home or from car exhaust and other industrial wastes. Even factors such as radiation from electronics as well as the energy from our society can impact our wellbeing. All of these things cause stress on our bodies physically and emotionally and can lead to imbalances in health, ranging from physical conditions such as fatigue, allergies, obesity, diabetes, multiple chemical sensitivities, etc. to mental/emotional challenges such as anxiety and depression.
A number of ways can be used to deal with this onslaught of chemicals and energy pollution. One great way of limiting the amount of toxins coming into our body along with putting good nutrients back in for healing can be through a detox program. A detox program can quickly clear out pollutants in our bodies, give us more vitality, and bring a jumpstart back to our health. Many physical symptoms like fatigue, allergies, and digestive problems can be eased through a detox program, and it can quickly start rebalancing the physical body.
Along with balancing the physical body, balancing our mental/emotional state is also very important. Much of this revolves around the stress we carry in our lives. Stress can come in two forms, either physical or psychological, and allows our body to gear up and fight the battles we need to fight.
The fight or flight mode induced from stress was a very useful mode for us when we used to feel physically endangered by wild animals or other warring tribes around us. In our society now, however, most of the stressors we feel are due to psychological or emotional factors around work, family life, financial health, etc.
Because physical and psychological stress causes the same biochemical response in our bodies, our bodies still respond like our life is being threatened. To be in a constant state of stress, whether it's physical or psychological, leads to the eventual breakdown of our bodies, contributing to diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, autoimmune diseases, hormone imbalances, and more. Working to relieve and handle our stressors is a huge part to health.
Craniosacral therapy can help with calming the stress and anxiety in life and rebalance the mental/emotional states of our health. It is a gentle form of bodywork that calms the fight or flight mode and induces the healing state in our bodies.
For both physical and mental/emotional support, why not try out a detox package and/or craniosacral package?
* Detox packages include consultations along with nutritional guidelines and supplements. They are available as a 10-day or 21-day package.
* Craniosacral packages are discounted $10 off the normal price and come in a package of 3.
Find out more about Dr. Corrine's
detox and craniosacral packages
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Rapid Pain Relief With Elijah Free Elijah Free, MH, CMI, CMT  |
Elijah Free's approach to helping his patients deal with physical pain has been described as bordering on miraculous. Elijah is also a Master Herbalist who designs and produces all of his own herbal products for his healing practice. He is an herbal product designer for Ridgecrest Herb Co. Elijah also holds a patent for his herbal fibromyalgia formula.
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To contact Elijah, please either call the clinic at 650-917-1121 or e-mail at [email protected]. To learn more about the healing work of Elijah Free, please go to his web sites: |
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Breast Thermography
at Pacific Naturopathic
Non-Invasive,Radiation Free, Informative
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Thermography is noninvasive and offers therapeutically useful information
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Medical radiation is one of those necessary evils. We avoid it when we can, and acknowledge both its costs and its benefits in screening, in diagnosis and in treatment. More and more women in the know are rejecting the notion that the annual squeezing and radiation of the breasts during screening mammograms is good for them, and are opting for alternative methods of screening that do not have the threat of potential injury. Hence the popularity of screening through thermographic imagery... non invasive, no potential for harm.
Note that in the above paragraph I say "we avoid it when we can." This is meant to imply that we can not always avoid the medical radiation such as in found in mammograms. When breast thermograms reveal high risk, we recommend further imaging. The next step tends to be a mammogram. Ultrasound is generally used after a mammogram to differentiate fluid filled cyst from solid tumor. MRI or magnetic resonance imaging is mostly recommended for high risk, difficult to diagnose patients.
The future no doubt holds the possibility of a perfectly safe and unfailingly accurate diagnostic tool. In the meantime, we do a risk benefit analysis to determine which tool to use. The benefits of mammography in specific circumstances (such as in following up an abnormal thermographic finding or imaging a palpable lump) outweigh the risk brought on by the radiation. However, when used as a screening technique, repeated mammograms expose otherwise healthy women to radiation on an annual basis. The risk inherent in this usage of mammograms outweighs the benefit. Many women, therefore, opt for baseline mammograms and baseline breast thermograms, screening annually with breast thermograms, and choosing follow up imaging when indicated.
The cost to you of breast thermography is $225.
Find out more about thermography at Pacific Naturopathic at:
Thermography at Pacific Naturopathic
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Coming in 2013 to Pacific Naturopathic in Hawaii -- Opportunities for Self-Guided Seclusion Meditation Retreats
RESERVE NOW FOR DISCOUNTED 2013 RATES!
Openings From November
Click here for info on making a reservation
Just try to imagine....
...a small, secluded, solar powered, private cabin with a personal meditation garden bordering a bamboo orchard. Comfortable indoor personal meditation space as well.
No telephone (except for emergency). No cell phone reception. No internet or computer (unless you so choose). No electro-magnetic fields. No television. No distractions. Personal and technological contact with the world only if and when you desire it. Your choices are encouraged and respected. Your transformation is our only desire.
Miles of wilderness to walk through. Just you, the pure air coming off the Pacific Ocean and countless shades of green and blue.
Organic tropical orchards and gardens to graze from and work in, if you so choose.
Prepare your own meals in your own little kitchenette (you'll purchase ingredients from organic growers at the farmer's market).
Sound like a dream? This dream will be a reality in early 2013. Three day minimum stay. Discounts stays of seven days or longer. Reserve for April 2013 (or later) before December 31, 2012 and receive an additional 10 percent discount.
Also always available for meditation retreats, honeymoons, getaways or as a base for exploring the island is our beautiful vacation rental with sweeping ocean views.
Pacific Naturopathic's Hawaii Vacation Rental
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Searching for a Meaningful Gift For a Friend or Loved One?
Give the Gift of Health!
Gift Certificates For All Practitioners and Services Available at Pacific Naturopathic
Looking for a conscious, meaningful, caring gift for a birthday or special occasion? A gift certificate to a Pacific Naturopathic practitioner lets a special person know you really care about their well-being. Gift certificates for all practitioners and modalities offered at Pacific Naturopathic are available by phoning our front desk at 650-917-1121, or just stopping by. |
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Two Types of Thermography Offered at Pacific Naturopathic
At Pacific Naturopathic, we offer two types of thermography, both of which address physiologic change in the body. Readers may be more familiar with Breast Thermography (see below), which helps us determine differences in vasculature and temperature between the breasts.
The other type of thermography offered at Pacific Naturopathic is called Contact Regulation Thermography (CRT).
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CRT: Safe and highly informative
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Contact Regulation Thermography screens the body from head to pelvic floor, measuring the temperature at 119 points. The first measurements are taken with the body at rest. After a 10 minute cold challenge, temperatures are taken again to assess the body's response to stress.
Evaluation of temperatures can help determine points of inflammation in the meridian and musculoskeletal system, can pinpoint areas of lymphatic congestion, can detect hidden imbalance, and can track referred pain.
Your temperature measurements are evaluated in the context of a data bank of thousands of scans. You are provided with a comprehensive written report of findings, and given the opportunity to discuss the implication of those findings with Ardell, who has extensive training in CRT. Should the scan indicate a need to address an underlying imbalance, Ardell will recommend that you see your health care practitioner, or make an appointment with one of the doctors at Pacific Naturopathic.
The cost of a CRT is $275. To schedule an appointment, please phone 650-917-1121.
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Transformational, Stress Reducing, Feel Good Services Offered at
Pacific Naturopathic ____________
Reduce Inflammation and Stress: La Stone Body Therapy with Ardell Hill 
Reducing inflammation is a key to treating almost every condition, from Alzheimers to arthritis to cancer to cardiovascular disease. LaStone Therapy reduces inflammation through therapeutic placement of cool stones over areas of the body that are inflamed. The entire body is supported as the temperature differential enhances the flow of blood and lymph.
A LaStone therapy session begins with warming the entire body to soften chronically tight muscles. Warming the muscle relaxes both the muscle and adjoining tissues and calms the nervous system. Using the cool stones, where needed, stops the pain-spasm-pain cycle and brings in fresh oxygenated blood.
The use of warm and cool stones together helps the body remember how to regulate itself and stop patterns of inflammation.
LaStone therapist Ardell Hill approaches LaStone Therapy sessions with a wide range of experience which she tailors to meet your individual needs. She draws from modalities including Swedish massage, Cranio-Sacral, Deep Tissue, Reflexology, Jin Shin Jyutsu and Reiki, all of which are enhanced with the use of warm and cool stones.
To book a LaStone session with Ardell, please phone Pacific Naturopathic at 650-917-1121.
Find out more about Ardell Hill |
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A Little About us...
At Pacific Naturopathic, we offer evidence-based, integrated approaches to most acute and chronic health concerns. Bone health, breast health, men's health and prostate care, hormonal balance for both women and men, elimination of all types of bodily pain -- both mechanical and metabolic -- acute and chronic, autoimmunity, cancer, cardiovascular health, inflammation, digestion, pediatrics, and metabolic cleansing are particular areas of interest to our practitioners. To encourage patient participation, we offer both guided self-help protocols and comprehensive doctor assisted protocols. Our patients tell us they particularly appreciate our doctors, practitioners, and staff for our caring attitudes and commitment to service. Please phone 650-917-1121 for more information or to schedule an appointment.
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