Lourdes Ramirez - Back to Caring for Patients

Some years ago a nodule was discovered on one of Lourdes Ramirez’s lungs. Since then, she’s had annual CT scans to monitor her lungs. During what she thought was just another CT scan, the nodule showed signs of growth. That’s when she was referred to Henry Mayo physician Mostafa Tabassomi, MD, for a bronchoscopy and underwent surgery.

“I was strongly encouraged to have it done but I was nervous,” Lourdes said, “but everyone was very thorough with explaining the steps of the process.”

After her surgery, Lourdes’ pathology results came back and she was diagnosed with stage one adenocarcinoma lung cancer, the most common form of lung cancer in non-smoking patients. Fortunately, she wasn’t required to undergo chemotherapy or radiation treatment.

Lourdes was able to recover quickly from her surgery, return to work caring for patient at Henry Mayo, and have what she calls a “totally normal life.” She continued to have follow-up appointments for monitoring.

“Having any stage of cancer is scary,” Lourdes said. “But I’m glad I followed the doctor’s advice and got the biopsy. Keeping up with screenings can be challenging but they are crucial for maintaining good health.”