Cancer treatment

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Mayo Clinic's approach

Mayo Clinic cancer experts are trained and experienced in using the latest, most effective cancer treatment techniques. When you seek care at Mayo Clinic, a multidisciplinary team of experts works together to ensure all your needs are met and all your cancer treatment options are considered.

Advanced treatments and services

The state-of-the-art facilities and expert staff at Mayo Clinic make it possible to deliver the most innovative, progressive care anywhere. The cutting-edge treatments and services available include:

Coordinated care from a team of experts

Mayo Clinic offers a truly integrated practice, with a variety of specialists regularly working together and meeting to discuss cases. This ensures that you receive care that takes into account all of your needs and concerns. Your care team carefully weighs all of your treatment options to create a plan that's personalized for you.

Your cancer care team might include:

Other experts are included as needed. For instance, if you have other health conditions that need to be considered as you weigh your cancer treatment options, the necessary experts will be included in the discussion.

Experience you can trust

Mayo Clinic cancer specialists have extensive experience caring for people with cancer. They draw on their experience and training to provide you with exactly the care you need.

When you seek care at Mayo Clinic you can expect:

  • Treatments for all types of cancer. Mayo Clinic doctors care for people with the most common types of cancer and those with very rare types.
  • Specialized care for children. The pediatric experts at the Mayo Clinic Children's Center provide specialized care for children and teenagers.
  • Access to the latest treatments. Mayo Clinic offers a full range of treatments. They include standard treatments and those only available through clinical trials.

Cancer resources

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.

  1. Sally-Blackwell1-16x9-1.jpg

    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…
  2. Knudson_Photo_2-16x9-1-1024x576.jpg

    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…
  3. Two-women-supportGettyImages-1333403152_16x9.jpg

    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…
  4. Dean-Patsy16x9.jpg

    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…
  5. jerry-haines16x9.jpg

    Team approach helps farmer beat lymphoma

    Shortly 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."…
  6. Stacy_and_family_316x9.jpg

    More adventures thanks to advanced cancer care, robotic surgery

    Stacy Weisensel and her husband Joshua had a goal: to take their daughters to as many national parks as possible. But in the summer of 2021, while trying to enjoy the breathtaking views of Yellowstone National Park with her family, Stacy was distracted by a nagging pain in her esophagus. Over the next few months, Stacy’s symptoms grew worse and ultimately led to a frightening diagnosis — stomach cancer. A life-changing diagnosis In July 2021,…
  7. Majithia-family16x9.jpg

    'My life is in the right hands.' Surgery gives California woman hope after cancer diagnosis

    Vishakha Majithia and her husband Thomas had started to envision their lives after retirement — visiting family in India, traveling around the world, and seeing their only son complete his oncology fellowship and start a family. But those plans quickly changed in mid-2018 when Vishakha received frightening news. She had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer — the tumor was considered inoperable. While the diagnosis came as a shock, it explained the seemingly unexplained symptoms Vishakha…

  8. 2-for-1 surgery: Hernia repair and prostate cancer removal

    Bruce 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…

  9. An emotional proposition for cancer survivor

    As 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…
  10. Lisa-HockingFeatured.jpg

    "Given a shot" to beat an aggressive cancer

    Near 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…

Expertise and rankings

Outside organizations recognize Mayo Clinic cancer specialists through accreditations, grants and rankings:

  • Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center meets the strict standards for a U.S. National Cancer Institute comprehensive cancer center. These standards recognize scientific excellence and a multispecialty approach focused on cancer prevention, diagnosis and treatment.
  • Mayo Clinic is accredited by the American College of Surgeons' Commission on Cancer.
  • Mayo Clinic doctors and researchers participate in research cooperatives such as the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology. This collaboration gives people with cancer access to the latest clinical trials.

Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, and Mayo Clinic in Phoenix/Scottsdale, Arizona, are ranked among the Best Hospitals for cancer care by U.S. News & World Report. Mayo Clinic Children's Center in Rochester is ranked the No. 1 hospital in Minnesota, and the five-state region of Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin, according to U.S. News & World Report's 2023–2024 "Best Children's Hospitals" rankings.

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.

For more information on visiting Mayo Clinic, choose your location below:

Mayo Clinic's campus in Arizona

Mayo Clinic's campus in Florida

Mayo Clinic's campus in Minnesota

Mayo Clinic Health System

Mayo Clinic Healthcare, located in London

Costs and insurance

Mayo Clinic works with hundreds of insurance companies and is an in-network provider for millions of people.

In most cases, Mayo Clinic doesn't require a physician referral. Some insurers require referrals or may have additional requirements for certain medical care. All appointments are prioritized on the basis of medical need.

Learn more about appointments at Mayo Clinic.

Please contact your insurance company to verify medical coverage and to obtain any needed authorization prior to your visit. Often, your insurer's customer service number is printed on the back of your insurance card.

More information about billing and insurance:

Mayo Clinic in Arizona, Florida and Minnesota

Mayo Clinic Health System

Clinical trials

Explore Mayo Clinic studies of tests and procedures to help prevent, detect, treat or manage conditions.

By Mayo Clinic Staff
Request an appointment
Doctors & Departments
July 26, 2024
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  1. Cancer terms. American Society of Clinical Oncology. https://www.cancer.net/navigating-cancer-care/cancer-basics/cancer-terms. Accessed Feb. 13, 2024.
  2. Hospitals and facilities. American College of Surgeons. https://www.facs.org/hospital-and-facilities. Accessed Feb. 13, 2024.
  3. Radiofrequency ablation. National Cancer Institute. https://www.cancer.gov/publications/dictionaries/cancer-terms/def/radiofrequency-ablation. Accessed Feb. 13, 2024.
  4. Taking charge of your care. Cancer.Net. https://www.cancer.net/navigating-cancer-care/managing-your-care/taking-charge-your-care. Accessed Jan. 5, 2024.
  5. Cryoablation. National Cancer Institute. https://www.cancer.gov/publications/dictionaries/cancer-terms/def/cryoablation. Accessed May 24, 2024.
  6. Member institutions. Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology. https://www.allianceforclinicaltrialsinoncology.org/main/public/standard.xhtml?path=%2FPublic%2FInstitutions. Accessed May 24, 2024.

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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 2024-2025 by U.S. News & World Report.

Learn more about this top honor

Cancer treatment