Sue Baker started having issues with her heart in 2015. By 2019, she began experiencing heart failure. Living in Southeast Georgia, her condition landed her in the hospital seven times before the last visit led to her being transferred to Mayo Clinic in Florida, nearly 90 minutes away, critically ill.

"She was really sick — in cardiogenic shock, intubated, connected to a breathing machine — she was not going to make it," says Dr. Parag Patel, a Mayo Clinic transplant cardiologist. "She only had three to six months to live, and we needed to act fast."

Watch: Sue Baker's story

Journalists: Broadcast-quality video pkg (2:21) is in the downloads at the end of the post. Please courtesy: "Mayo Clinic News Network." Read the script.

Sue's situation had become dire. She was presented with two options: enter hospice care or have a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implanted to serve as a bridge to a heart transplant. While she chose the LVAD to buy more time, by 2023 she was experiencing dangerous heart rhythms and other challenges.

Complicating matters, her body was producing more antibodies, making it increasingly difficult to find a suitable transplant donor.

"It was devastating to know that I'm actually going to die," says Sue. Still, she did not lose hope. "You just grab hold of God and keep praying," she says.

Sue's care team also remained determined to help her hold on. They explored an innovative approach — called Heart After Liver Transplant with a Domino Liver to another patient (HALT-D) — that had shown success in patients with similar antibody counts.

HALT-D, however, had never been attempted on someone with a heart pump like hers. This procedure would be a first for Mayo Clinic, at any of its transplant sites.

Although Sue's liver was healthy, she would need to get not just a heart transplant but also a donor liver to help remove the antibodies from her body and reduce the risk of her new heart being rejected. This meant a rare and complex domino transplant, involving both a liver and a heart, where Sue's liver would also become part of the donor chain.

"We take the liver of the patient who's receiving the heart after liver, and we take that liver and we put it into another recipient so that we do not waste an organ," says Patel.

Preparing for this complex procedure involved extensive multidisciplinary collaboration between a variety of Mayo Clinic departments. Sue spent months in the hospital, waiting for a match. During her wait, fellow patients and staff began calling her "mama" for the care and support she provided everyone else, despite her own challenges.

"We get to know each other and kind of help each other out," says Sue. "That was a lot of healing and helpfulness there."

"Sue not only helped people on the floor, but she's helped other patients who didn't have an opportunity" for transplant, says Patel.

Finally, in September 2024, the domino transplant was performed successfully.

Today, Sue is on the path to recovery, growing stronger each day. Her motivation to live is fueled by the desire to honor her donor, whose gift has given her a second chance at life.

"I would love to thank and meet the family," says Sue. "I'm not going to sit back and do nothing. That person will always be special."

Her story is a testament to the power of medical innovation, the dedication of healthcare professionals, and the resilience of the human spirit.

"I love her, and I appreciate the doctors and all the nurses that have been so loving and caring for Sue,” says Charlene Taylor, Sue's caretaker.

The post A Mayo first: Innovative transplant procedure saves patient’s life after heart failure appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Mayo Clinic in Florida has become a Blue Zones Approved Worksite, joining a growing number of organizations across the city committed to making even more healthy choices available to employees. This milestone, achieved in collaboration with Blue Zones Project Jacksonville, reflects Mayo Clinic's dedication to fostering an environment where well-being is not just encouraged — it is embedded in the culture.

Through this initiative, Mayo Clinic has made evidence-based changes such as enhancing the employee dining menu with more plant-forward options, expanding gym and recreational spaces, and creating serene areas where staff can downshift and recharge. These changes align with Mayo Clinic's longstanding commitment to providing world-class care — both to patients, and to those who make that care possible.

"Mayo Clinic is setting a powerful example of how organizations can prioritize the health of their workforce in meaningful, sustainable ways," said Nicole Hamm, executive director of Blue Zones Project Jacksonville. "Their commitment to well-being sets a high standard for workplaces throughout our city."

"At Mayo Clinic, our employees are at the core of everything we do and how we care for our patients," says Kent Thielen, M.D., CEO of Mayo Clinic in Florida. "Caring for our employees by creating an environment where they belong and prioritizing all aspects of their health helps us to fulfill our mission as an organization. We continue to implement and instill a culture of health and well-being for staff, patients and the Northeast Florida community. We are proud to become a Blue Zones Approved Worksite and look forward to continuing to work together with Blue Zones Project Jacksonville to make Jacksonville a better place to live, work, eat and play."

To mark the occasion, Mayo Clinic in Florida will host a Worksite Approval ceremony and well-being celebration for employees on Monday, June 23 from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. ET on the Mayo Clinic in Florida Campus in the Kinne Auditorium located in the Cannaday Building. The event will include a ribbon-cutting and ceremony starting at 11:30 a.m. followed by wellness activities, healthy food tastings, opportunities to interact with fellow employees, Mayo Clinic leaders and Blue Zones Project Jacksonville staff, as well as will include information on the continued steps Mayo Clinic is taking to support staff longevity and well-being.

Local media are invited to attend and cover the event.

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About Blue Zones Project Jacksonville
Blue Zones Project is brought to Jacksonville by Blue Zones and a powerful coalition of community leaders: Baptist Health, Brooks Rehabilitation, the City of Jacksonville, Community First Credit Union, Florida Blue, Jacksonville Jaguars, Jessie Ball duPont Fund, Mayo Clinic, UF Health and United Way of Northeast Florida. This innovative partnership brings together influential public and private organizations under a shared vision to measurably improve community well-being, resilience and economic vitality in Jacksonville. Over six years, local leadership and the local Blue Zones Project team will launch and implement policy work and school initiatives across all of Duval County. The Westside, Northside and East Jax neighborhoods will undergo focused Blue Zones Life Radius transformation. Visit bluezonesprojectjacksonville.com for more information.

About Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit organization committed to innovation in clinical practice, education and research, and providing compassion, expertise and answers to everyone who needs healing. Visit the Mayo Clinic News Network for additional Mayo Clinic news.

Media contacts:

• Kristin Murray, Blue Zones Project Jacksonville, kristin@bluezones.com
• Tia Ford, Mayo Clinic Communications, newsbureau@mayo.edu

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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — In a bold step to transform cancer care, Mayo Clinic is bringing new hope for patients diagnosed with the most aggressive and treatment-resistant cancers. Today, Mayo Clinic opened the new 228,000-square-foot Duan Family Building at its Jacksonville, Florida location. The building will house the first carbon ion therapy program in the Americas, and advanced technology that can seamlessly deliver both carbon ions and protons to treat the same tumor. 

"Carbon ion therapy and other heavy particle therapies are the advanced radiation therapies of our future," says Cheryl Willman, M.D., executive director, Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center. "When battling our patients' complex, currently radioresistant cancers at Mayo Clinic, we need the advantage of these next-gen radiation tools, which can be fine-tuned to target and treat aggressive tumors while minimizing the impact to surrounding tissue."

As a leading National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center with locations in Florida, Minnesota and Arizona, Mayo Clinic is uniquely qualified to bring carbon ion therapy, as well as the dual carbon ion and proton treatment option, to the Americas.

"Mayo Clinic is building a better future where more cures are possible — giving new hope to patients with aggressive cancers," says Gianrico Farrugia, M.D., president and CEO of Mayo Clinic. "This is the latest demonstration of our commitment to patient-centered healthcare transformation through our Bold. Forward. strategy."

While treatment with carbon ion therapy is expected to begin in 2028 and proton therapy in 2027, the opening of the Duan Family Building marks a significant milestone. Beginning this summer, other cancer treatment options will be offered in the new building, including photon therapy, immunotherapy, chimeric antigen receptor-T cell therapy (CAR-T cell therapy) and more, along with sophisticated imaging technology.

"The emerging treatments that will be offered in the Duan Family Building, including carbon ion therapy, are an important part of the integrated cancer practice at Mayo Clinic, ensuring constant, research-driven innovation in the care we are providing to patients," says Kent Thielen, M.D., CEO of Mayo Clinic in Florida. 

Mayo Clinic researchers, working with outside global experts, are also exploring the use of other heavy ions beyond carbon in clinical studies to evaluate their potential benefits in future cancer care.

This building and the advances in cancer care treatment technology housed within represent a significant investment, largely thanks to the generosity and vision of our benefactors. 

Advancing radiation therapy

Many patients with cancer require radiation therapy during their treatment. Different forms of radiation therapy have varying biological impacts on cancer cells.

• Photon therapy: This is the most common form of radiation therapy, which uses X-rays or gamma rays — packets of light energy called photons — to treat cancer. Beams are directed at the tumor, preventing the cancer cells from growing or dividing.

• Proton beam therapy: This particle therapy directs a precise dose of positively charged particles (protons) at cancer cells, destroying their genetic material while minimizing the impact on surrounding, healthy cells. This is especially beneficial for treating tumors near vital organs and cancer in children.

• Carbon ion therapy: This heavy particle therapy delivers positively charged particles (carbon ions) that release their energy upon hitting the targeted cancerous tumor. The particles destroy cancer cells with very little damage to surrounding tissue. It is particularly effective against cancer cells that are resistant to other forms of radiation.

Advances in radiation therapies, such as carbon ion and dual modality treatments of proton beam and carbon ion, enable clinicians to create highly individualized, precise and effective treatments, ultimately bringing more cures to patients.  

How radiation therapies work

In 2019, Mayo Clinic and technology innovator Hitachi began working together to bring carbon ion therapy to the Americas. While carbon ion therapy was discovered in the United States in the 1970s, the technology has only been available for clinical care at a handful of centers in Asia and Europe.

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About Mayo Clinic 
Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit organization committed to innovation in clinical practice, education, and research, and providing compassion, expertise and answers to everyone who needs healing. Visit the Mayo Clinic News Network for additional Mayo Clinic news.  

Media contact: 

• Tia R. Ford, Mayo Clinic Communications, newsbureau@mayo.edu 

Media kit:

• Duan Family Building media kit with soundbites, images, animation

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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Alzheimer's disease, marked by memory loss, trouble concentrating and thinking, and changes in personality and behavior, devastates patients, their families and loved ones. With new treatments available for people with early signs of Alzheimer's disease, there is a growing need for accessible and cost-effective tests to diagnose Alzheimer's disease sooner. In a new study, Mayo Clinic researchers confirmed the accuracy of an FDA-approved blood test that can be used at outpatient memory clinics to diagnose the disease in patients with a range of cognitive impairment. The findings are published in Alzheimer's and Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association.

Standard ways of measuring the buildup of toxic proteins in the brain that indicate Alzheimer's disease include positron emission tomography, or PET scans, and spinal taps. But these tests can be expensive and invasive. More accessible, non-invasive and cost-effective biomarkers — measurable indicators of a disease — are needed to improve diagnoses broadly in clinical settings. 

"Our study found that blood testing affirmed the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease with 95% sensitivity and 82% specificity,” says corresponding author Gregg Day, M.D., a Mayo Clinic neurologist, dementia specialist and clinical researcher. "When performed in the outpatient clinical setting, this is similar to the accuracy of cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers of the disease and is much more convenient and cost-effective."

The research team says their findings show promise in:

• Better identifying research participants with Alzheimer's disease brain changes.
• Screening and selecting patients with Alzheimer's disease for clinical trials.
• Assessing how patients respond to therapy in clinical trials.
  

More than 500 patients receiving treatment for a range of memory issues at the outpatient Memory Disorder Clinic at Mayo Clinic in Florida participated in the study. They included patients with early- and late-onset cognitive impairment, typical and atypical Alzheimer's disease, Lewy body dementia and vascular cognitive impairment. 

Patients ranged from 32 to 89 years old, with the average age of symptom onset being 66. Alzheimer's disease was determined to be the underlying cause of the symptoms in 56% of the patients. The team also conducted serum tests to measure kidney disease, which can influence plasma biomarker concentrations. 

Mayo Clinic Laboratories tested for two proteins in blood plasma that are associated with amyloid plaque buildup, the hallmark of Alzheimer's disease: Aβ42/40 and p-tau217. The researchers found that p-tau217 levels were higher in patients with Alzheimer's disease versus those without the disease. Higher plasma p-tau217 concentrations were also associated with impaired kidney function, which researchers say should be taken into account when performing the blood test. 

Plasma p-tau217 concentrations were positive in 267 out of 509 patients, including 233 of 246 patients (95%) with cognitive impairment attributed to Alzheimer's disease.

The study was featured at the American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting in April. 

In a previous study, researchers from the Mayo Clinic Laboratories team showed the utility of these blood tests compared to amyloid PET scans in research participants. 

Dr. Day says the next steps in this research are to evaluate blood-based testing in more diverse patient populations and people with early Alzheimer's disease who show no cognitive symptoms. The team also wants to evaluate disease-specific factors that may alter biomarker accuracy in clinical trials.

Other Mayo Clinic authors include Yoav Piura, M.D., Christian Lachner, M.D., Joshua Bornhorst, Ph.D., Alicia Algeciras Schimnich, Ph.D., and Neill Graff-Radford, M.D. For a full list of authors, funding and disclosures, see the paper.

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About Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit organization committed to innovation in clinical practice, education and research, and providing compassion, expertise and answers to everyone who needs healing. Visit the Mayo Clinic News Network for additional Mayo Clinic news. 

Media contact:

• Tia Ford, Mayo Clinic Communications, newsbureau@mayo.edu

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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Pick's disease, a neurodegenerative disease of unknown genetic origin, is a rare type of frontotemporal dementia that affects people under the age of 65. The condition causes changes in personality, behavior and sometimes language impairment. In patients with the disease, tau proteins build up and form abnormal clumps called Pick bodies, which restrict nutrients to the brain and cause neurodegeneration. The only way to diagnose the disease is by looking at brain tissue under a microscope after a person dies.

In a new study, Mayo Clinic researchers have identified gene expression changes in the brains of people with Pick's disease. Since Pick's disease is a rare neurodegenerative disorder that cannot be diagnosed during life, their findings offer valuable insights that may help guide the development of biomarkers and therapeutic strategies.

Researchers at Mayo Clinic in Florida, University College London in England and collaborators worldwide have established the Pick's Disease International Consortium to study a specific MAPT gene variation known as MAPT H2 that makes the tau protein and acts as a driver of disease. They investigated a connection between the gene and disease risk, age at onset, and duration of Pick's disease. Their findings are reported in The Lancet Neurology.

Mayo Clinic researchers identified the first MAPT gene mutations for a behavioral form of dementia in 1998, and other genetic changes associated with related dementias in 2001, which paved the way to understanding the mechanisms of tau-related disease. This new study confirms a tau genetic factor linked specifically to Pick's disease and opens up new avenues of therapeutic design.

"Our research could have profound implications for the development of therapies for Pick's disease and other related neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease and progressive supranuclear palsy," says Owen Ross, Ph.D., a Mayo Clinic neuroscientist and senior author of the paper. The consortium hosts a database of clinical, pathological and demographic information about patients with the disease who donated their brain tissue for science.

To conduct the study, researchers investigated brain samples of 338 patients confirmed to have Pick's disease to compare with blood samples from 1,312 neurologically healthy individuals. Patients confirmed to have the disease came from 35 brain banks and hospitals in North America, Europe and Australia between 2020 and 2023. The Mayo Clinic Brain Bank was among the sites in the study that provided the largest collection of samples.

Analyzing DNA from the blood samples and brain tissue, the research team recorded baseline information on study participants, including age at disease onset, age at death for those with Pick's disease, and sex and age at blood collection for the control group. Disease duration was calculated by the difference between age at Pick's disease onset and age at death. In addition, the researchers looked at clinical characteristics such as clinical diagnosis, impairment in behavior and language.

"We found that the MAPT H2 genetic variant is associated with an increased risk of Pick's disease in people of European descent," says Dr. Ross. "We were only able to determine that because of the global consortium, which greatly increased the sample size of pathology cases to study with Pick's disease."

The team's next steps are to expand the consortium to the Middle East, Asia, Africa and Latin America, further resolve the genetic architecture of the disease, and assess this specific genetic variant as a biomarker or test for clinical diagnosis of Pick's disease. There is currently no clinical test or diagnosis available for Pick's disease. For the first time, the creation of the consortium may allow for the development of a clinical test.

Funding for this research at Mayo Clinic was supported in part by the National Institutes of Health, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, the State of Florida Ed and Ethel Moore Alzheimer’s Disease Research Program, and Mayo Clinic Alzheimer's Disease Research Center. For a full list of authors, collaborating institutions and disclosures, see the paper.

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About Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit organization committed to innovation in clinical practice, education and research, and providing compassion, expertise and answers to everyone who needs healing. Visit the Mayo Clinic News Network for additional Mayo Clinic news.

Media contact: 

• Tia Ford, Mayo Clinic Communications, newsbureau@mayo.edu 

The post Advancing the study of Pick’s disease, rare form of early-onset dementia appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.

Watch: The Mayo Clinic Minute

Journalists: Broadcast-quality video (1:00) is in the downloads at the end of this post. Please courtesy: "Mayo Clinic News Network." Read the script.

Preventing a stroke is a crucial aspect of healthcare, as about 80% of all strokes are preventable. The focus is on managing risk factors to reduce the long-term risk of stroke.

A stroke results from a blocked or torn blood vessel that decreases blood flow to the brain. In the U.S., stroke is a leading cause of death and disability.

“Because about 80% of all strokes are preventable, we really focus on prevention,” says Dr. Stephen English, a Mayo Clinic neurologist.

Preventing stroke risks

Tips for lowering stroke risk include maintaining blood pressure under 130/80 and keeping cholesterol and blood glucose at appropriate levels.

"(Other modifiable risks include) things like smoking cessation, treatment of sleep apnea with a CPAP device, and some other potential treatments," he says. "We want to make sure that the risk factors are mitigated to help reduce the long-term risk of stroke."

There are risk factors for stroke that cannot be changed. These include age, sex, race and family history. “There are four nonmodifiable risk factors we typically think about. The first is age, so age greater than 55; males; people that have a family history of prior stroke; and then people that are of African American descent,” says Dr. English.

The post Mayo Clinic Minute: Preventing stroke appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.

ROCHESTER, Minn. — Every year, some mothers die after giving birth due to heart problems, and many of these deaths could be prevented. The ability to screen for heart weakness before pregnancy could play a crucial role in identifying women who may need additional care to improve pregnancy outcomes. Mayo Clinic researchers, led by Anja Kinaszczuk, D.O., and Demilade Adedinsewo, M.D., tested artificial intelligence (AI) tools, using recordings from an electrocardiogram (ECG) and a digital stethoscope, to find unknown heart problems in women of childbearing age seen in primary care.   

Study findings published in the Annals of Family Medicine show high diagnostic performance of these technologies to detect left ventricular ejection fraction below 50%, indicating heart muscle weakness. These tools were tested on two groups of women aged 18 to 49.  

• Group 1: 100 women already scheduled for an echocardiogram (the best test to evaluate heart muscle function). They also had a standard clinical ECG and digital stethoscope recording of the heart’s electrical activity and heart sounds.  

• Group 2: 100 women seen for routine primary care visits to see how often the AI tools would find heart problems.   

The AI-ECG demonstrated an area under the curve (AUC) of .94 while the AI digital stethoscope, Eko DUO, achieved an even higher AUC of 0.98, indicating strong diagnostic accuracy. In the second cohort, the prevalence of positive AI screening results was 1% for the AI-ECG and 3.2% for the AI-stethoscope. 

"Statistically, nearly half of pregnancies in this country are unplanned, and approximately 1% to 2% of women may have heart problems they don't know about. Our research findings suggest that these AI tools could be used to screen women before pregnancy, allowing for improved pregnancy planning and risk stratification, early treatment, and better health outcomes which addresses a critical gap in current maternal care," says Dr. Adedinsewo, a cardiologist and senior author of the study.  

This research builds upon earlier published studies, including a pilot prospective study evaluating AI digital tools to detect pregnancy-related cardiomyopathy among obstetric patients in the U.S. and a pragmatic randomized clinical trial of women in Nigeria who were pregnant or had recently given birth. Collectively, this research highlights the potential of AI to modernize cardiovascular screening, enabling earlier identification and management of heart muscle weakness in women of reproductive age. Further research is underway to explore the potential of using these technologies to screen for heart weakness in broader populations.  

Mayo Clinic has licensed the underlying technology to EKO Health for its digital stethoscope with embedded ECG electrodes and to Anumana for the 12-lead ECG. Mayo Clinic and some study authors have a financial interest in this technology. Mayo Clinic will use any revenue it receives to support its not-for-profit mission in patient care, education and research. 

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About Mayo Clinic 
Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit organization committed to innovation in clinical practice, education and research, and providing compassion, expertise and answers to everyone who needs healing. Visit the Mayo Clinic News Network for additional Mayo Clinic news.  

Media contact: 

• Terri Malloy, Mayo Clinic Communications, newsbureau@mayo.edu 

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Mayo Clinic in Florida has received its third Magnet designation, the highest international honor for nursing excellence, from the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), with several exemplars noted. Exemplars are areas where the Florida campus significantly exceeded Magnet standards for clinical excellence.  

"While redesignation happens every four years, our nurses and care teams display excellence every day," says Jamie Macaluso, Magnet program director for Mayo Clinic in Florida. "It's a wonderful feeling to hear appraisers recognize our staff for their hard work and interactions with patients."   

Mayo Clinic in Florida first achieved the designation in 2015 as a reflection of its nursing professionalism, teamwork and expertise. The American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Magnet Recognition Program distinguishes organizations that meet rigorous standards for nursing excellence. The site also earned a designation in 2020. Globally, only a small and select group of U.S. healthcare organizations have achieved Magnet recognition. Less than 10% of hospitals nationwide have the Magnet designation. 

Mayo Clinic outperformed the benchmarks in all nursing units for:  

• Hospital-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections
• Patient Burn Care  
• Surgical Errors  
• Care Coordination  
• Careful Listening  
• Courtesy and Respect 
• Patient Education  

Magnet appraisers commended the nurses in Florida for their collaborative work in designing and implementing technology in patient care settings and through programs like Advanced Care at Home, Cancer CARE Beyond Walls and STAT Care at Home. They also highlighted nurse participation in the Alligator Tank and robot pilot programs.

"This honor is a true reflection of the unwavering dedication from our exceptional nurses, nurse leaders and clinical care team members," says Tera Gross, chief nursing officer for Mayo Clinic in Florida. "The commitment to fostering a culture of collaboration and innovation ensures that our Mayo Clinic values are embodied in every aspect of patient care. Through their efforts, we continue to set the standard for nursing excellence and uphold the principles that define Mayo Clinic's Model of Care."

Research has shown that Magnet recognition offers significant advantages to healthcare organizations and their communities. One of the key benefits is higher nurse job satisfaction, which contributes to a more motivated and engaged workforce. Also, hospitals with Magnet status tend to receive higher patient ratings, reflecting a better overall hospital experience. These hospitals report lower mortality rates, improved patient outcomes and higher quality of care.

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Hailing from the historic town of Natchitoches, Louisiana, Roderick Baptiste has spent the last 17 years in Columbus, Georgia. His journey, marked by unexpected health challenges, began to unfold when he moved to Georgia in 2008. During a routine visit to his local primary care physician, an underlying heart issue and high blood pressure were discovered. This led to a diagnosis of congestive heart failure and stage 3 kidney failure.

The path to Mayo Clinic

For several years, Roderick made efforts to manage his condition. "I was treated and was being sustained with changes in medications and many prayers," says Roderick. "In August of 2014, my cardiologist referred me to Mayo Clinic in Florida, and this began my Mayo Clinic experience." At that time, his heart function had declined to a mere 10% ejection fraction, a measurement of the heart’s ability to pump oxygen-rich blood to the body.

The waiting game

Life took a slower pace in 2014 as daily activities became increasingly challenging. "Walking, talking, and normal, day-to-day routines slowly became more and more difficult to manage on my own," says Roderick. By August 2019, he had entered total kidney failure and required dialysis. Despite being listed for a heart and kidney transplant in December 2014, the wait extended for five long years, filled with monthly travels to Mayo Clinic for testing and assessments. Spring of 2019 brought multiple hospital admissions, and by December, his health had significantly deteriorated. In January 2020, Mayo Clinic admitted Roderick as an inpatient until a transplant could be performed. After a 23-day wait, he received a new heart and kidney on Feb. 22, 2020.

A connection beyond surgery

Six months after his transplant, Roderick reached out to his donor's family. His donor's mother responded, and since then, they have built a strong relationship, maintaining contact through visits, phone calls, texts and video conferencing.

Living his best life

Today, Roderick says he feels amazing, living his best life with no health issues to report. His story is a testament to the lifesaving effect of organ donation and transplantation. To those considering becoming organ donors, Roderick offers heartfelt encouragement: "If you check the box as a donor, you could help save so many lives."

The post Double-transplant patient marks 5-year anniversary with thriving health appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.

Scott Spaulding's relationship with Mayo Clinic in Florida started before he learned he had throat cancer. He'd been coming to the campus for liver issues and was impressed with the care he received.

"They were responsive, they were on time, they had so many resources available, including the latest technologies and equipment," Scott says. "It made an impression on me."

Still, when a spot on his neck — what he described as "a little BB under my skin" — led to a diagnosis of throat cancer, he initially went somewhere closer to his home in St. Marys, Georgia, for cancer treatment. About a year later, though, Scott's cancer came back, and his thoughts immediately turned to Mayo Clinic.

"I was already going to the Mayo Clinic, and I really liked it," he says."So I decided to talk to them about treating my cancer."

Because it was his "second time through with cancer," Scott wanted to make sure he did his homework. He met with the hospital where he was originally treated, another cancer center, and Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center to hear their plans for how they would attack his disease.

"I really wanted to be at the Mayo Clinic because I thought there would be a lot of value in having all of my issues treated in one place," he says. "But I also wanted to be really careful. Because I’m not a doctor, I needed someone to help me make these serious treatment decisions."

In Scott's opinion, Dr. Yujie Zhao, an oncologist at Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center who specializes in head and neck cancer, presented the best case.

"She told me that because the cancer had spread from lymph nodes in my neck to lymph nodes in my chest, we should start with chemotherapy combined with immunotherapy first to treat my whole body and then do radiation therapy," he says, adding that Dr. Zhao explained it would be a multipronged attack on the cancer to kill cancer cells that had spread to other areas.

"Others proposed radiation therapy first," Scott says. "I wasn't sure which way to go, but Dr. Zhao did the best and most thorough job of explaining why we should approach it the way she proposed. So I told her, 'Let's get going.'"

"The outside recommendation for upfront radiation was based on the impression that the disease was a primary lung cancer," notes Dr. Zhao. "However, after a thorough workup, we confirmed that it was metastatic disease (or cancer that had spread) from the previous head and neck cancer, leading to a different treatment approach."

Comprehensive care for complex cases

Scott's throat cancer was challenging because it wasn't his only health condition, Dr. Zhao says. However, Mayo Clinic has the experience and expertise to navigate complex diagnoses.

"Head and neck cancer is a multidisciplinary disease," she says. "It requires working across specialties as a team to provide the care patients like Scott need."

After completing his treatments, Scott has been in remission from cancer for about a year. 

"So far, my cancer's all gone," he says. "You keep your fingers crossed, but you have to have a positive attitude about it."

Recently, Scott resumed some activities he enjoys, like golfing and fishing. 

"Going through cancer and treatment for cancer takes it out of you for quite a while," he says. "But it's better than the alternative, I'll tell you that."

The high point throughout the journey, Scott says, is how much help and support he has received from Mayo Clinic. 

"The resources you have available to you, the fact that they're all in one place is so helpful," he says. "I still have an issue with a chronic cough. A lot of times, you get scarring in your throat from radiation therapy. So they're trying to figure out whether it's nasal drainage getting trapped in my throat because of the scar tissue or allergies or sleep apnea. They're very thorough. They're evaluating everything. 

"They're also very honest. They'll say to me, 'Hey, you've got scarring in your throat. We may not be able to fix this 100%, but let's figure out what we can do to help it as much as possible.' I like that attitude."

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