Author credits eye specialist for lifesaving cancer diagnosis
Vision and voice are essential to Janice Munemitsu’s busy post-retirement career. A sought-after speaker and author, she is frequently tapped to share her family’s story, which marks a fascinating chapter in U.S. history.
Munemitsu’s family members were among more than 125,000 Japanese Americans forcibly relocated to internment camps during World War II. They had leased their Orange County farm to a local Mexican American family.
While living on the farm, the Mendez family became central figures in the 1947 school desegregation case Mendez v. Westminster, which challenged separate schools for Mexicans and would pave the way for the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision, Brown v. Board of Education.
Munemitsu became the reluctant author of The Kindness of Color. Today, she speaks in classrooms, at the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles and in communities throughout the region.
Sudden vision loss
But over a matter of weeks in 2023, Munemitsu experienced a drastic change in her vision. She was diagnosed with neurotropic keratitis, a rare disease that damages nerves in the cornea. An eight-week course of treatment, though painful, successfully spurred nerve regrowth. Then she developed a secondary eye condition, uveitis.
At that point, her community ophthalmologist referred her to Dr. Sanjay R. Kedhar, a UCI Health specialist in uveitis and other autoimmune and infectious eye diseases at the Gavin Herbert Eye Institute.
“Dr. Kedhar literally saved my life — not just my eyesight,” Munemitsu says.
To get to the bottom of her eye problems, Kedhar ordered a series of lab tests, including a chest X-ray, for a complete understanding of her health.
“The eyes often provide amazing insight into the general health of our bodies,” he explains. “Uveitis is an inflammation of the middle layer of the eye. In about 50% of patients, an underlying systemic disease may be associated with the inflammation. These diseases can include infections, autoimmune diseases and even cancer.”
Stunned by diagnosis
In Munemitsu’s case, it was lung cancer. The X-ray revealed a spot on her lung that turned out to be a 2.5-inch tumor caused by an extremely rare form of the disease, RET-positive lung cancer. It accounts for less than 2% of all lung cancers and tends to affect non-smoking women, especially people of Asian descent.
“What I most appreciate is Dr. Kedhar’s curiosity. If he had done the blood tests only, everything would have come back as fine,” she says. “I’m definitely grateful to him.”
Munemitsu, who received lung cancer treatment elsewhere, has regained her stamina and resumed her speaking engagements.
Throughout it all, Kedhar continued to monitor her vision to ensure that the uveitis was under control and that her lung cancer treatments weren’t negatively affecting her sight. He even took time to consult with her community eye doctor.
Munemitsu is grateful for the high-quality care she received at the eye institute’s Irvine location, an easy drive from her Corona del Mar home.
“How fortunate we are to have experts like Dr. Kedhar right here locally,” she adds.
To learn more about the vision experts at the UCI Health Gavin Herbert Eye Institute, call 949-824-2020 or schedule an appointment online.