Cancer

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.

Cheryl Robinson volunteering on the same floor where her husband received cancer care
Cheryl Robinson volunteering in Florida. Blink and you'll miss Cheryl Robinson going in and out of rooms and preparing each for patients. Her speed is matched by her dedication as a volunteer and the compassion shown toward those seeking care on the Hematology/Oncology floor in Florida. A former commercial insurance professional, Cheryl’s journey took a heartfelt turn when she became a caregiver to her husband, Jim Robinson. Their love story, rooted in shared struggles and…
How a different mammogram experience led to lifesaving cancer diagnosis
Melissa Neuman dreaded getting mammograms. Her small, dense breasts made the screening exceptionally uncomfortable and painful. So Melissa put off getting an annual mammogram until she felt she couldn't delay any longer. For about five years, Melissa had been plagued with a nagging pain just under her left breast. In February 2023, a recommendation from a friend led her to seek care from Jessica Johnson, an OB-GYN nurse practitioner with Mayo Clinic Health System in Owatonna, Minnesota. "She took me seriously,…
A tale worth hearing
Carole Reisinger and husband Rick Carole Reisinger’s body was telling a story that nobody would ever want to hear. "It started last February when I was diagnosed with kidney cancer. Thanks to the medical staff at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, five days later, I had a 9-by-5-centimeter tumor removed," says Carole Reisinger. But it was during that surgery, the second story was about to be told. "In the process of that surgery, the surgeons noticed…
Sally Blackwell 'no longer on the sidelines' after life-changing surgery for rectal cancer
Sally Blackwell with her husband, Christopher Blackwell. Sally Blackwell was pregnant with her second child when she began noticing symptoms she initially brushed off as nothing. She was experiencing constipation. She wasn't gaining weight during the pregnancy. She figured the lack of weight gain had to be because she wasn't doing the daily Chick-fil-A runs she did during her first pregnancy. It wasn't until after her daughter was born in May 2021 that the symptoms became…
FISH testing helps detect unseen cancer cells
On the brink of losing her battle with acute myeloid leukemia, Shannon Camlek arrived at Mayo Clinic as a last hope. Her chances didn’t look good, but with the help of specialized genetic testing, particularly FISH (fluorescence in situ hybridization) studies, doctors were able to detect the specific gene mutations responsible for her symptoms and disease. The test results also helped Shannon’s care team target her treatment accordingly, and finally put an end to what…
'I'll be there for my daughters,' Florida woman's pledge while navigating cancer
Lorie Kirkman with her husband and three daughters. Lorie Kirkman embraces a lifestyle of being on the move. The 38-year-old is a wife and mom to three young daughters who are active in their Northeast Florida community and have a passion for being outdoors. After working out at her gym one day, Lorie began to feel pain in her back and shoulder. When it became uncomfortable to sit or lay down, and she noticed exhaustion…
Father of five on life after cancer: 'Everything feels so good and rich and valuable'
Gary McCracken rests on a fallen tree In the fall of 2020, Gary McCracken noticed a swollen lymph node near the upper left side of his neck. He initially didn't think much of it. "I grew a beard for deer season and forgot all about it," he says with a chuckle. After Thanksgiving, when Gary shaved his beard, the gland was still swollen. "There's a video of me playing guitar at church, and it…
Defying all odds and exploring a remarkable journey beyond diagnosis
Mike stands proudly upon the North Shore of Lake Superior. In August 2021, then-28-year-old Mike Knudson set out on what he thought would be an adventure-filled hiking vacation inside Glacier National Park in Montana. Little did he know at the time that this journey into nature would be the start of an unexpected life path. It all began innocuously enough just before Mike was scheduled to leave for his trip. One morning before work, he…
Goldilocks surgery: Finding the perfect balance in breast cancer reconstruction
Kathleen 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…
Looking back on pancreatic cancer, 5 years later
On October 23, 2018, Rita Krueger underwent surgery for pancreatic cancer. Mark Truty, M.D., a Mayo Clinic hepatobiliary and pancreatic surgeon, removed her pancreas, duodenum, spleen and left adrenal gland and removed and reconstructed several blood vessels involved in her tumor. Within hours of surgery, a pathology report revealed that Rita was cancer-free. Eight months prior, another surgeon had told Rita to get her affairs in order. Rita and her husband, Jim, sought a second opinion…

Pagination Patient Stories

Locations, travel and lodging

Mayo Clinic has major campuses in Phoenix and Scottsdale, Arizona; Jacksonville, Florida; and Rochester, Minnesota. The Mayo Clinic Health System has dozens of locations in several states.

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Mayo Clinic in Arizona, Florida and Minnesota

Mayo Clinic Health System

By Mayo Clinic Staff

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Doctors & departments

Nov. 19, 2024