Tea Allegri

It is a long trip from Caracas, Venezuela, to Rochester, Minn., but quality and efficiency motivate Tea Allegri and her husband, Luigi, to travel to Mayo Clinic when they have a serious problem.

In 2004, Tea's concern was a suspicious mammogram.

Tea came to the Breast Diagnostic Clinic at Mayo on a Monday, where doctors reviewed seven years of mammograms she brought from home. On Tuesday, she had an image-guided biopsy (stereotaxic biopsy) to evaluate abnormal appearing spots on her right mammogram. On Wednesday, pathology reports from the biopsy confirmed that the spots were indeed cancerous. She was found to have an early-stage cancer called ductal carcinoma in situ. Abnormal cells were found in the lining of a milk duct in the breast, but they had not invaded surrounding breast tissue. Thursday, she met with the surgeon to discuss her surgical options. The surgeon recommended a right breast lumpectomy to remove the tumor, followed by six weeks of radiation therapy to the breast to be administered in Caracas.

Tea was scheduled for surgery the following day — Friday. On Saturday, she flew to Miami to visit her daughter. "The operation was a success," says Tea. "There was no pain after the operation."

Far from home and dealing with a new cancer diagnosis, Tea was comforted that the process went quickly and smoothly. "It's not just the speed, but also the peace of mind that comes from having confidence in physicians who are absolutely clear on the options open to me," says Tea, 68, a retired architect.

Tea's experience at the Diagnostic Breast Clinic is not unusual. "We're committed to providing consultations within 48 hours for patients with a new breast problem," says Sandhya Pruthi, M.D., director of the Breast Diagnostic Clinic. "Within three to seven days, we initiate diagnostic evaluation including breast imaging, biopsy and surgery, if necessary." Mayo Clinic's integrated model of care offers patients a coordinated team approach to evaluation, treatment and follow-up.

Tea's experience was exactly what she expects of Mayo Clinic. She and her husband have traveled to Mayo Clinic for second opinions four times since 1975. Every time, the medical issues have been resolved in a manner far easier than the couple had expected.

Medication avoided prostate surgery for Luigi. For Tea, other doctors had recommended a hysterectomy when some abnormal cells were found in a biopsy of the uterine lining. Mayo Clinic physicians reviewed the pathology slides and instead advised watchful waiting. No further problems developed.

Another time, other physicians suspected Tea had liver damage due to hepatitis C. Mayo Clinic doctors ruled out liver damage and hepatitis C, and instead diagnosed a treatable gall bladder concern and a past exposure to hepatitis A.

The Allegris first came to Mayo Clinic on the recommendation of friends who live in the United States, and they are glad they did. Because of the distance, "we can't come to Mayo Clinic every year," Tea says. "But when we do, we are very well attended."