The Mayo Clinic experience and patient stories Our patients tell us that the quality of their interactions, our attention to detail and the efficiency of their visits mean health care like they've never experienced. See the stories of satisfied Mayo Clinic patients. Goldilocks surgery: Finding the perfect balance in breast cancer reconstructionKathleen Stewart was used to waiting for test results. She'd been called back for additional mammogram images many times and had already undergone two biopsies of suspicious areas in her breasts. In March 2022, as she waited for a call about the results of a breast biopsy, the resident of La Crosse, Wisconsin, felt she already knew what they would be. "I had already had that internal conversation that if I was diagnosed, I knew… Trust and timing: How a bone marrow transplant gave a man extra birthdays to celebrate"I started writing my first book at the age of two. It's gonna be published at the age of four. Not bad for a little kid, huh?" But Dean Weitenhagen isn't a child prodigy with a five-year plan. He is a 70-year-old commercial real estate broker with a new lease on life — and a new "birthday" he celebrates — thanks to a lifesaving stem cell transplant for acute myeloid leukemia. Dean's new birthday, and his… Team approach helps farmer beat lymphomaShortly before Thanksgiving 2021, Jerry Haines, a part-time farmer and retired butter and cheesemaker, was helping another farmer with fall chores. He felt good but noticed an odd lump on his upper arm. "It wasn't too big — only about the size of a hickory nut. I thought that something bit me," says the 81-year-old Arcadia, Wisconsin, resident. "Over the next few days, it got bigger. Then I found a lump in my armpit too."… 2-for-1 surgery: Hernia repair and prostate cancer removalBruce Simones has worn many hats in his life and likes to be busy. He's been a student, father, nurse, business owner, mentor, friend, grandfather and volunteer. Today, the 74-year-old La Crosse, Wisconsin, retiree fills his days playing golf, spending time with his family and hiking his active dogs in the Hixton Forest. He also volunteers at a warming shelter for people who are homeless and delivers furniture to families in need with a nonprofit… An emotional proposition for cancer survivorAs a five-year survivor of anaplastic pancreatic cancer, Jim Smith belongs to a small group of people to have reached the important milestone. In the years since receiving the life-threatening diagnosis and ensuing lifesaving treatment at Mayo Clinic, the trauma has begun to fade into memory. Jim, a medical doctor and married father of two grown daughters, lives in Omaha, Nebraska, and works at Creighton University School of Medicine. He has finally begun to ponder… Mayo Clinic Connect brings together 2 women with leukemia, 46 years apartEditor's note: The Mayo Clinic Connect volunteer mentor featured in this story has asked that her Connect handle — @LoriBMT — be used in place of her name. In 2019, 65-year-old @LoriBMT sat in a Mayo Clinic lab area awaiting her turn for blood work. She had been in the hospital for more than six weeks following a bone marrow transplant. @LoriBMT is a positive person, but after weeks of feeling tired and week, she… "Given a shot" to beat an aggressive cancerNear the end of 2021, Lisa Hocking developed symptoms of head congestion, sinus pressure and headaches. After taking antibiotics for what was thought to be sinusitis didn't ease her symptoms, she underwent a CT. The CT revealed a mass that extended from her sinuses through the base of her skull adjacent to her brain. With the revelation of this complex diagnosis, Lisa realized that she needed an advanced care center to guide her. After witnessing… Surprise wedding shower 1,000 miles from homeEvery day, people receive cancer care in the Albert J. and Judith A. Dunlap Cancer Center at Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. While administering chemo, radiation or preparing a patient for surgery, the care team is quick to provide a listening ear, warm hugs, blankets and caring smiles for patients. In July, the care team happily took on another task: a surprise wedding shower for a special patient, Thresa Pattee. Thresa traveled over 1,000 miles… Dawn's Journey: Overcoming a near-zero survival rateDawn Botsford was sitting in a chair at the hair salon in 2011 when her hairdresser commented on a spot on the top of her head. It was bug season in North Dakota, so Dawn didn’t think much of it. "When I told my hairdresser that, she said, ‘I really think you need to get it checked out.' She saved my life," Dawn recalls. Dawn met with a local dermatologist to have the spot examined.… Glimmer of Hope: Gregor HeinrichWhile Gregor Heinrich never could have imagined that testicular cancer was related to his problems with vision and gait, learning he was positive for KLHL11 protein biomarkers meant he could receive treatment for both the cancer and the illness behind it. When Gregor Heinrich visited Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, in November 2019 seeking a second opinion for puzzling symptoms thought to be related to multiple sclerosis, he wasn’t sure what doctors might discover. Plagued by peculiar… Request an appointment ResearchCosts & insurance May 09, 2023 Share on: FacebookTwitter Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, and Mayo Clinic in Phoenix/Scottsdale, Arizona, have been recognized among the top Cancer hospitals in the nation for 2023-2024 by U.S. News & World Report. Learn more about this top honor Oncology (Medical)DepartmenthomeSectionsRequest an appointmentOverviewConditions treatedDoctorsSpecialty groupsExpertise & rankingsLocations, travel & lodgingClinical trialsResearchPatient storiesCosts & insuranceNews from Mayo ClinicReferrals SectionsRequest an appointmentOverviewConditions treatedDoctorsSpecialty groupsExpertise & rankingsLocations, travel & lodgingClinical trialsResearchPatient storiesCosts & insuranceNews from Mayo ClinicReferrals ORG-20180179 Medical Departments & Centers Oncology (Medical)