John Fitzpatrick

John Fitzpatrick, a defense attorney who lives in Virginia, was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2001. He did "due diligence" and came up with a list of three medical centers that lead the field in treating prostate cancer. He called two of the medical centers and was told there would be a wait of several months before they could see him. Mayo Clinic told him they could see him promptly and offered to schedule the visit with the surgeon as well as the surgery for a single visit so John would not have to make two trips.

"Mayo Clinic's attitude was 'What can we do to help you and make it easier for you?' In all my life, I have never seen a hospital run more efficiently or as pleasantly. I was completely blown away," he says. "Everything was attended to — from lodging to transportation — and ran right on schedule."

Urologist Michael Blute, M.D., performed the surgery — nerve-sparing radical prostatectomy. The procedure is common for younger men who have confined prostate cancer.

"Dr. Blute said the margins on the right side of the prostate were clear by less than 1 millimeter. He said it was a good thing I had the surgery when I did," says John. "Had I waited months, I might have needed chemotherapy and radiation. I'm glad Mayo Clinic was able to get me in so quickly for surgery. I tell everyone that I learn has prostate cancer to go to Mayo Clinic. I have referred more than a dozen men to Dr. Blute — I feel like he saved my life and is eager to help others."

In 2003, John began having heart problems — later diagnosed as atrial fibrillation. He called upon his new favorite surgeon, Dr. Blute, and asked him for a cardiology referral. John was scheduled for pulmonary vein isolation ablation with Mayo Clinic cardiologist Douglas Packer, M.D.

During the procedure, Dr. Packer threaded catheters through veins leading to different areas of John's heart. Some of the catheters recorded the electrical activity in the heart during normal rhythm and during atrial fibrillation. Dr. Packer determined which areas of the heart had abnormal tissue and delivered energy through the catheters to burn and destroy this tissue that caused John's atrial fibrillation.

"Since a 10-hour ablation procedure on Feb. 12, 2004, my heart has been in normal rhythm," says John. "Going to Mayo Clinic has been the best decision I have ever made in my life. I attribute it to my impatience. I refused to wait for treatment when I had prostate cancer, so I ended up at Mayo Clinic. My Irish luck got me there, but it didn't save me. The excellent doctors and the way they practice medicine is what saved my life. Mayo does medicine the way it used to be, the way people wish it still was. All they care about is, 'Can we help you?'

"While defending hospitals and physicians for more than 15 years, I have come across some wonderful hospitals and gifted physicians," he says. However, there is no place on earth like Mayo Clinic. Now anyone in my family who needs any medical care — my wife, Barbara; my four sons ages 18 to 26 — is going to Mayo Clinic. They really care about patients."