Sharing Mayo Clinic - March 2011 Archives

Diane recently wrote about her friend's experience at Mayo Clinic. Read a few parts of her blog post below. "My good friend recently received the call ...

“Patients helping patients” has always been my way of summarizing philanthropy at Mayo Clinic. After all, most benefactors are patients, and the gifts they make help other patients, either right away (think buildings and new equipment) or years later (think scholarships for bright young minds or support for research that leads to new treatments). But I’m rethinking that – in a good way – after the Gabriel House of Care dedication on March 17, 2011, at Mayo Clinic in Florida. A 30-room, 40,000-square-foot house that opens in April, Gabriel House of Care will provide extended-stay lodging to transplant and cancer patients. It was built entirely with philanthropy, and just about all of the benefactors are patients, including the lead benefactors, Jorge and Leslie Bacardi. Is there a more concrete – forgive the pun – example of “patients helping patients?”

Toni Kay Mangskau makes a living helping patients from around the world learn about the latest cancer research.                                                   Mangskau, 45, a clinical trials referral coordinator at Mayo Clinic’s Cancer Education Center in Rochester, Minn., never imagined she would one day be a patient possibly facing cancer herself. Numbed by the news of being diagnosed with pre-cancerous lesions during a routine mammography screening when she was 41, the Minnesota mom elected to undergo a double mastectomy to eliminate the chances of cancer forming. With no family history of breast cancer and a clear mammogram the year before her diagnosis, Mangskau was grateful her mammogram caught the abnormality early.  Following her treatment and reconstructive surgery, she made it her mission to help educate women on the importance of screening and early detection.

Mayo Medical School's class of 2011, along with medical school seniors throughout the country, had been anxiously awaiting Match Day on Thursday, March 17, 2011. ...

The below article comes from our Sharing Mayo Clinic print publication: “It isn’t a big article,” Kristie Naines says when asked about her appearance in the October issue of Good Housekeeping. “It’s just a few paragraphs.” She’s being modest. It’s kind of a big deal. Those “few” paragraphs describe how, at age 32, Naines was diagnosed with Stage IIIC breast cancer and told that she had a 30 percent chance of surviving for five years. With an 18-monthold daughter to care for, the young mom had no intention of waiting to see what happened. “My goal was to see my daughter go to kindergarten, to watch her walk through that door,” Naines says.

  Every February, runners from around the country descend on Mayo Clinic’s Florida campus to participate in the 26.2 with Donna — The National Marathon to Finish Breast Cancer. Named in honor of three-time breast cancer survivor Donna Deegan, a Jacksonville, Fla., television news anchor and Mayo patient, the marathon starts and finishes on Mayo Clinic’s campus and attracts more than 8,000 participants. Organizers say it’s the only marathon that donates most of its proceeds to breast cancer research to find a cure for the disease. This year marks the event’s fourth anniversary.

The below article comes from our Sharing Mayo Clinic print publication: At 6 feet 4 inches tall and more than 200 pounds, Brandon Street could easily be described as “big.” In high school, his nickname was “The Big Street.” When this active young man who enjoyed playing sports began to have irregular and difficult bowel movements and occasional blood in his stool, he didn’t worry too much. He thought his diet was to blame. “I tried to hide it in high school. I didn’t want people to know there was a problem,” says Street, a native of Douglas, Ga.

The below article comes from our Sharing Mayo Clinic print publication: Jake Kranz, a senior at the University of Minnesota, recently rode the longest, tallest zip line ...

For the past four years, I’ve heard the buzz about the 26.2 with Donna: The National Marathon to Finish Breast Cancer. While I always felt it was a wonderful cause — with proceeds benefiting Mayo Clinic for breast cancer research — it wasn’t until I recently participated in the event that I came to realize just how truly special this event is for both cancer survivors and non-survivors alike. While I haven’t been personally impacted by breast cancer, it’s a cause that has been close to my heart. And about a year ago, my uncle’s girlfriend, Mary, was diagnosed, so breast cancer hit closer to home. So I — along with friends and colleagues from Rochester and Duluth Minn., formed a relay team and excitedly headed to Jacksonville to share in this unique event. When I arrived at Jacksonville’s airport, I was greeted with a large “Welcome 26.2 with Donna participants” sign. En route to my hotel, I spotted pink banners hanging from light poles. And when I checked in, the hotel lobby was a sea of pink shirts — clearly others sporting marathon spirit. Over the course of the day, I continued to see marathon signs and overheard excited conversations of others looking forward to the “big day.” My teammates — Sarah Christensen, Kelli-Fee Schroeder, and Amy Stoller Stearns — and I were energized! The morning of the race, we awoke before the sun, anxious for our race debut. We were surprised that we could hear the buzz before we got to the lobby of other excited participants waiting for transportation. The excitement was electric. Once we arrived at Mayo Clinic, where the race began and ended, we were speechless as we looked around at the nearly 10,000 other participants from all walks of life and wearing every imaginable shade of pink. Some even wore full-on costumes with pink wigs, fun socks and very “creative” team names on their shirts.

Treatment for neurological condition restores her vision Grace Jeffers was happy – really happy – to see her physician, Brian Weinshenker, M.D., a Mayo Clinic neurologist. Jeffers has neuromyelitis optica (NMO), a rare neurological disorder that attacks cells in the optic nerve and spinal cord. The disease took her vision. At Mayo Clinic, it was restored. Jeffers’ illness started in 2009 with a backache. Within a week, she couldn’t walk and had lost control of her left side. Jeffers, a Chicago resident, says local physicians believed she had multiple sclerosis (MS). They performed tests and sent blood samples to Mayo Clinic in Rochester, which confirmed she had NMO.

Jack Stiehl, 71, Sun City West, Ariz., was diagnosed with congestive heart failure in 2004. He had difficulty breathing and was easily winded. In 2007, with ever worsening symptoms, Stiehl recalls his local physician saying he was out of options; he wasn’t a candidate for a heart transplant. Then, a friend suggested Mayo Clinic. “I was severely debilitated when I went to Mayo, but I was hopeful they could help me,” says Stiehl. “I didn’t want to die.” A week after his first appointment, Stiehl had open heart surgery to implant a ventricular assist device (VAD) to support his ailing heart. Now, Stiehl celebrates two birthdays — his actual birthday on Nov. 21 and the day he received his VAD, Jan. 10, 2008.

It's one of those things that at least for me, even when I was leaving to go to Rochester back in 2008, I really had ...