Stories of Hope

After a frightening diagnosis, Marty Button found hope at Mayo Clinic. Ten years later, she thanked her care team from the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro.

Michele Halyard, M.D., began her journey as a radiation oncologist at Mayo Clinic 36 years ago. Today, she is recognized as one of the most influential and impactful leaders in the movement toward health equity.

Lionel Kankeu Fonkoua, M.D., is an oncologist with Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center who specializes in the treatment of gastrointestinal cancers. He is leading a clinical trial focused on the immigrant African and Asian communities of Minnesota with a high prevalence of one type of liver cancer.

Black people in America are about twice as likely to get Alzheimer's disease and other memory loss disorders. To better understand why, Floyd B. Willis, M.D., is helping the Mayo Clinic Alzheimer's Disease Research Center recruit participants into research studies.

Alyx B. Porter, M.D., a neuro-oncologist at Mayo Clinic, is focused on inspiring and supporting future generations of physicians from historically underrepresented backgrounds, with scholarships, mentorship, leadership development and financial wellness education.  

In addition to caring for people before and after transplants, Brian Hardaway, M.D., has been both an organ donor and a recipient. He knows firsthand that good things grow when transplants take root. "You're following patients for years. Transplant medicine is like planting a seed and watching an oak tree grow."

Gary Pies, D.D.S., says the three best things to happen in his life were meeting his wife, serving in Vietnam and going to Mayo Clinic for training as a fellow. In his wife's memory, Dr. Pies has established the Marcia S. Pies Fund in Breast Cancer Research and a $2 million charitable remainder trust.

Yonghun Kim grew up in North Carolina, half a world away from his grandfather in South Korea. When his grandfather was diagnosed with terminal gallbladder cancer, Yonghun felt helpless. He decided to change that feeling following the death of his grandfather by becoming a physician.

John Berry’s family made the world accessible at one’s fingertips — his grandfather launched a telephone directory publishing business in Dayton, Ohio, that brought the yellow pages to people all over the globe. And when the Berry family needed answers for a medical need, they knew who to call. For three generations, Mayo Clinic has provided serious and complex care to the Berrys.

Jackie Zachmeyer received a transplant certificate from Mayo Clinic following her surgery. It includes a number — 31. "I'm number 31 in all Mayo Clinic's history for a heart-lung transplant. That puts it in perspective," Jackie says. "If it weren't for Dr. Connolly and the Mayo Clinic transplant care team, I guarantee you I wouldn't have had the career I had or experiences in life I had."