John Simpson

John Simpson accompanied his wife, Lin, to Mayo Clinic for foot surgery in 1994. As long as he was there, he decided to have a checkup. It was the start of a decade-long relationship that brought John to Mayo Clinic for a variety of health problems.

During that initial checkup, a tumor was detected on John's pituitary gland. It was treated with surgery and radiation. The endocrinologist noticed that John's medical record didn't indicate a baseline test for colon cancer. John's age at the time, 62, and family history put him at increased risk for colon cancer. His father had colon cancer twice.

"I had probably been told to have a colonoscopy before, but I didn't really listen until my physician at Mayo Clinic insisted on it," says John. It's a good thing the physician insisted John be tested for colon cancer.

A colonoscopy detected cancer. John had minimally invasive laparoscopic surgery to treat it — part of a Mayo Clinic-led study comparing the surgery to standard "open" surgery for colon cancer. In the laparoscopic operation, a surgeon makes three half-inch incisions and inserts a small video camera and surgical instruments through them. The surgeon makes another two-inch incision to bring the colon out of the abdomen to cut away the cancerous portion. After reconnecting the two healthy parts, the surgeon puts the colon back inside the abdomen.

The study concluded that laparoscopic surgery is effective for selective cases of colon cancer in which the disease has not spread to other organs, and when performed by surgeons experienced in laparoscopic colon surgery.

"The surgery was a piece of cake," says John. "The surgeon had put our minds at ease so we weren't wringing our hands thinking I was going to die. I went home three days after surgery and went on a business trip two days after that. If I had traditional colon cancer surgery, I would have still been in the hospital then."

John continued to see his surgeon every six months. The health of participants in the colon cancer study was scrutinized every six months. Little did John know when he enrolled in the study that it would lead to detection of another cancer – and another one.

A checkup one year after colon cancer surgery detected prostate cancer. John had another surgery at Mayo Clinic. A checkup one year after that revealed recurrence of prostate cancer. John had radiation therapy to treat it.

At another checkup two years later, John mentioned a recurrent pain he'd felt in his right side. A CT scan detected a tumor on John's pancreas. A biopsy indicated the tumor was likely to become cancerous, so John had surgery to remove half of his pancreas.

"My brother had died from pancreatic cancer six months earlier," says John. "I didn't want to take any chances."

During a checkup one year later, Simpson was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and prescribed low-dose insulin.

"If I hadn't been going to Mayo so frequently for follow-up in the colon cancer surgery study, my health problems might not have been detected early, when they were so treatable. I'm eternally grateful that my physicians have been so thorough and committed to my total health," says John. "At Mayo, you can get everything done at one place, without the stress of having to call or wait for appointments at other places. Everyone who cares for you works for the same place and is so friendly, compassionate and well trained."