Patient Stories

  1. In a moment … a poem, and a vision of hope

    Sometimes the only way to respond to a thing of beauty is to pour your thoughts out onto the page. And that’s what Mayo Clinic patient Jerry O’Donnell, of Waterloo, Iowa, did after being moved, perhaps even changed, by experiencing the beauty of music in the atrium of the Gonda Building on Mayo’s Rochester campus. [...]

  2. A Golden Dream

    After being diagnosed with cancer, Joan Hittner, along with her husband, David, created an organization to raise money to find a cure. Today, David and daughter Christine continue the work. In 2011, Joan and David Hittner opened a letter from the Mayo Clinic Department of Development. Inside was a request: Would they consider donating $25 [...]

  3. A Kidney Between Friends

    Todd Goldrick was living the dream. Good job. Loving wife. Two young, healthy kids. Weekends spent playing golf, softball, kayaking, hiking, running or just hanging around home with the family. But that changed suddenly in 2010, when he and his wife simply tried to buy some life insurance. He was just 28. "Mine came back [...]
  4. Ginette Weiner

    Ginette's Top Tips for Breast Cancer Patients and Those Who Love Them

    Ginette Weiner began her fight against breast cancer in 2008, and underwent surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy. She is a patient at Mayo Clinic in Arizona and under the ongoing care of Donald Northfelt, M.D. She brings a fresh, honest and engaging perspective to patients and their loved ones with the following advice for breast cancer patients and their families. Advice for Loved Ones 1.  Do not tell [...]

  5. Air Ambulance Ride Confirms Family’s Gratitude for Mayo Clinic

    Growing up in South Dakota, Brandon Mauck had heard stories about the famous medical institution surrounded by cornfields in Rochester, Minnesota. Mayo Clinic's reputation inspired him to become part of the Mayo organization, and for the past four years, he has been working in the Department of Nursing at Mayo Clinic in Arizona. What he [...]

  6. Dr. David Fleischer: Treating Esophageal Cancer in Kenya

    Esophageal cancer is a challenging enough condition to treat at the best medical centers in the U.S. When the condition affects scores of people in a developing country in eastern Africa, the challenge is all the more demanding. David Fleischer, M.D., a gastroenterologist at Mayo Clinic in Arizona, and his colleagues, working in collaboration with [...]

  7. Richard Rubenstein: Overcoming Rectal Cancer

    A routine colonoscopy in 2007 saved Richard Rubenstein’s life. Richard, a retired executive from Scottsdale, Ariz., had expected to receive a clean bill of health, especially since he had no alarming symptoms or any family history of colorectal malignancies. Instead he received shocking news – he had stage 3 rectal cancer. Richard decided to pursue his [...]

  8. From the Alaskan woods to top of the transplant list

    The first sign something was wrong came when Dennis Chavez was out hunting caribou with his wife, Maria. The Wasilla, Alaska, native suddenly found that he couldn’t cover ground like he used to. He quickly became winded — much more quickly than he expected. He ignored the signs for a while. But one day a [...]

  9. For one couple, expert neurology care makes all the difference

    In one brief statement, Barbara Smith can sum up the impact that the staff in the Department of Neurology at Mayo Clinic in Arizona had on her and her husband as they faced several difficult and frightening medical problems: "They are our life-changing heroes."  For 40 years, seizures were just part of life for Barbara. [...]

  10. A New Approach to a Difficult Cancer Diagnosis

    At age 39, Tom Peroulas was active and fit. Coaching and playing rugby, biking to work in downtown Chicago, and exercising daily kept him in good shape. So when he started noticing pain in his leg, groin and hip, he thought it was probably related to activity. He tried stretching and yoga. He rested it. [...]
  11. Charlie Willwerth, a 61 year-old leukemia survivor and bone marrow transplant recipient from St. Augustine, Fla. is taking the necessary steps to help bring life-saving stems cells to others in need of a bone marrow transplant.

    Leukemia Survivor Volunteers in a Unique Way to Help Fellow Bone Marrow Transplant Recipients

    Some people who overcome a life-threatening illness feel motivated to give something back to those who helped make their recovery possible. Charlie Willwerth, a 61-year-old leukemia survivor and bone marrow transplant recipient from St. Augustine, Florida, is taking steps to help bring life-saving stems cells to others in need of a bone marrow transplant. Two years [...]