Helping Others Heal: Giving the gift of time after cancer treatment

John McKee felt blessed. As he embarked on retirement, he wanted to give back and realized there was no better way than to move closer to the organization that's helped him navigate several health challenges.

"My life has been extended three times because of Mayo Clinic," John says.

First, John was undergoing a routine procedure when it was determined he needed an emergency bypass because of a blocked coronary artery. Then, surgeons repaired an aortic aneurysm they'd found during the emergency bypass. Finally, John came for cancer treatment after doctors discovered a tumor on his saliva glands.

John needed surgery and 30 radiation treatments. It was during the course of those treatments that a Mayo Clinic volunteer had a profound impact on John's life. Read the rest of John's story.