San Jose Breast Cancer Survivor Exudes Positivity and Gratitude

Ramona Lione moved from Fremont to San Jose many years ago but continued going to Washington Hospital Healthcare System (WHHS) for her mammograms. She liked the continuity of care she had always received at the Women’s Center and knew her previous mammogram images were on file in case a comparison or follow-up mammogram was ever needed.

That’s exactly what happened in February of this year when Ramona was called back after her annual mammogram for additional imaging of a suspicious-looking area in her right breast.

Ramona was diagnosed with lobular carcinoma after another mammogram, ultrasound, and biopsy of the area. Lobular carcinoma makes up a small portion of all breast cancers as it is found in the milk-producing glands of the breast (called lobules), instead of more common ductal cancers. Lobular carcinoma is curable if detected and treated before it spreads from the breasts to nearby lymph nodes. Luckily for Ramona, her cancer had not spread, and she had a lumpectomy to remove the small, 5-millimeter tumor in early May.

“That mammogram definitely saved my life,” said Ramona. “The tumor I had was very small and is nothing any medical professional or I would ever have found with a manual breast exam.”

Ramona’s lumpectomy was performed by Washington Township Medical Foundation surgeon Kranthi Achanta, MD. Her surgery went smoothly, and she did not experience pain afterward. She did, however, develop a seroma, which is a pocket of clear fluid that sometimes results from breast surgery. Despite being aspirated three times, the seroma refilled but is now healing.

Next up in Ramona’s treatment plan was radiation therapy, a common treatment for breast cancer that uses high-energy rays or particles to destroy cancer cells. The Washington Radiation Oncology Center (ROC) in Fremont is part of the WHHS cancer care affiliation with UCSF. But since Ramona lives in San Jose and was facing what she thought would be daily radiation treatments for several weeks, she chose to have her radiation done closer to home. Fortunately, since her tumor was small and found early, her radiologist said she only needed five sessions. She tolerated the treatments well, except for some resulting fatigue that is a common side effect.

“Now that the treatments are done, I feel terribly lucky about my cancer journey,” Ramona recalled. “So many women face more trauma and heartbreaking results following their breast cancer diagnosis. From the start, I was very optimistic and just knew this was not going to be a terrible thing. I believe a positive attitude helps when you are facing cancer.”

Ramona is now on a five-year course of anti-estrogen medication to prevent the cancer from returning. As her fatigue improves, she is back to enjoying retirement from her 30-year career as a clinical researcher. She loves gardening with California native plants, birdwatching, and getting outside with her two corgi dogs.

“I would tell other women facing breast cancer to lean on the support of family and friends to keep you strong,” Ramona advised. “Stay positive and hopeful because there has been so much progress in cancer research. Today, we have more ways to reduce risk, raise survival rates, and improve outcomes. I highly recommend the Washington Hospital Women’s Center and UCSF - Washington Cancer Center, which are fantastic. Everyone, from the physicians, staff, imaging techs, and outpatient surgery team members, go out of their way to be super helpful, kind, patient, and supportive.”

To learn more about the Washington Women’s Center, visit www.whhs.com/WomensCenter. For more information about the UCSF - Washington Cancer Center, go to www.whhs.com/Cancer.