Breast Cancer Survivor Supported by Family, Friends and Faith

Evelyn Salindong was all set to visit family in the Philippines in January, but she had to cancel the vacation hours before her plane lifted off. That day she received a phone call from her doctor saying the results of her recent guided biopsy showed a malignant tumor in her breast. “I was crying, but not because my test came back positive, it was because I had to postpone my trip,” Evelyn recalled. While she was devastated at the time, she now knows she did the right thing staying home to undergo cancer therapy.

The first cancer treatment Evelyn had was a lumpectomy, performed by Dr. William Dugoni, surgeon and medical director of the Women’s Center at Washington Hospital Healthcare System. Once she was fully recovered from surgery, Evelyn attended three weeks of daily radiation therapy sessions at the Washington Radiation Oncology Center (ROC) in Fremont. At the ROC, UCSF physicians utilize a state-of-the-art linear accelerator that destroys cancer cells while sparing surrounding healthy tissue. Evelyn did not experience any bad side effects from the treatments except for some browning of her skin where the radiation was focused, which she likened to getting a suntan. Now, she is on a five-year course of medication called letrozole to prevent the cancer from coming back.

Evelyn is grateful to her friends and family in the Bay Area and in the Philippines who steadfastly supported and prayed for her through her cancer journey. She has one daughter, a registered nurse who works at Washington Hospital, and a son in Milpitas working in information technology. She says her husband of 51 years, Rudy, literally supports her in all ways, joking that, “When we walk together I hold onto him like he is my cane, keeping me steady.” Evelyn has some stability issues since she had a 2015 total knee replacement followed by two knee revision surgeries.

A retired nurse herself, 77-year-old Evelyn is grateful for all the help she received from Nurse Navigator Christine Mikkelson, RN, BC-RN. Oncology nurse navigators help direct patients through their diagnostic evaluations and cancer treatments while providing needed education and support. They schedule appointments; process paperwork; and help with referrals to dieticians, social services and spiritual or supportive care as needed.

“I am so happy we live near Washington Hospital where Christine and all the staff and doctors are so nice and so helpful,” Evelyn said. “We feel blessed to have all these cancer services and treatments right here in Fremont.”

Now in remission, Evelyn is back to doing the things she loves, namely traveling. This time she is touring Portugal followed by Las Vegas, where she and her husband have a second home. Next up, she will take that trip to the Philippines, which was postponed the day her breast cancer was diagnosed.

To learn more about the Women’s Center at Washington Hospital and their comprehensive breast screening and cancer services, go to whhs.com/BreastHealth. For more information on the Washington Radiation Oncology Center, go to whhs.com/ROC.