Tony Ciabattoni honors his wife’s memory

Beloved wife, mother and grandmother, Jane “Janie” Ciabattoni loved her life. Married for 53 years to Tony Ciabattoni, her high school sweetheart, she was retired from her fulfilling career as a high school English teacher and living contentedly in the Laguna Beach dream house the couple built together. Her family was everything to her, and she was overjoyed to be a grandmother twice over.

In May 2021, Janie was rushed to Providence Mission Hospital after having some difficulties. Working closely with the medical team over many weeks, the family was heartbroken to learn that Janie was suffering from glioblastoma, a rare type of brain tumor. When she passed away in August 2021, surrounded by her loving family, her husband Tony was grateful for the compassionate care Janie received.

“You could sense that the competency and compassion of the caregivers at Providence Mission Hospital was at a high level right from the start. That was very comforting,” Tony recalls. “But they also recognized — from the very beginning — the emotional stress and concern we felt as a family. After a while, it became obvious to me that it was much more than a job…that they really cared about us. The fact that these caregivers just came off an exhausting year dealing with COVID made their effort and attitude even more remarkable. To me, they are heroes.”

The gift of gratitude

Janie’s physician, Santosh Kesari, M.D., Ph.D., is ranked among the nation’s top one percent of neuro-oncologists and neurologists who serves as the director of Neuro-oncology at Pacific Neuroscience Institute and director of the new Providence Southern California Research Clinical Institute. A physician and scientist, Dr. Kesari specializes in personalized medicine for patients with malignant brain tumors while his research focuses on cancer stem cells, their role in the formation of brain tumors, and their resistance to treatment.

Dr. Kesari’s goals as the leader of regional research inspired Tony to make a generous gift to establish the Jane G. Ciabattoni Brain Tumor Research Initiative supporting research at Providence Mission Hospital’s Leonard Cancer Institute.

“Knowing my feelings about the hospital and Janie’s care compelled me to want to do something to help,” says Tony. “Dr. Kesari does not let barriers get in the way and I love that attitude. I want to support his vision to provide local access to advanced treatment options.”

Planting the seeds of innovation

Dr. Kesari is leveraging regional Providence initiatives to support local communities. To date, he has created a research network that includes seven of the 11 Providence community hospitals.

“We’re working to bring innovative treatments and research trials to all of the Providence community hospitals,” says Dr. Kesari. “Many patients are traveling out of their communities for care, and that’s a hardship. Initiatives like the one Tony created will seed bigger things to come at Providence Mission Hospital and give south Orange County residents a center of excellence for brain tumor research and treatment.”

To learn more about how Providence Mission Hospital is expanding and how your support can impact thousands across Southern California, please contact the Foundation at 949-364-7783 or email missionfoundation@providence.org.