Editor, Karl Oestreich; Assistant Editor, Carmen Zwicker

Mayo Clinic in the News is a weekly highlights summary of major media coverage. If you would like to be added to the weekly distribution list, send a note to Laura Wuotila with this subject line: SUBSCRIBE to Mayo Clinic in the News.

 

Post-Bulletin
Proton Beam Building Set to Open
by Paul Scott

Thirteen years after beginning research on the idea, four years after announcing a $100 million gift from its namesake donor, three and a half years after breaking ground, three years since a day-long pour of concrete needed to build eight foot underground walls and two years since the final beam was lifted into place, Mayo Clinic will formally unveil the Richard O. Jacobson Building on Saturday… During a tour of the site offered to the Post-Bulletin, Mayo radiation oncologist and proton beam therapy program director Dr. Robert Foote described his feelings at the center's long-in-the-making moment of completion. "Ecstatic," said Foote with quiet exuberance. "We're very excited to finally open after all these years of planning and construction. Now we get to cure cancer."

Reach: The Post-Bulletin has a weekend readership of nearly 45,000 people and daily readership of more than 41,000 people. The newspaper serves Rochester, Minn., and southeast Minnesota.

Additional coverage:

KAAL, Mayo Clinic Will Start Treating Cancer Patients with Proton Beam Therapy

Post-Bulletin, Proton Beam Therapy: 'Star Trek on steroids' 

MinnPost, MPR, KIMT, BringMeTheNews, KARE11, KTTC, KSTP, Slideshow: KTTC

Context: Mayo Clinic hosted a grand opening event for the Richard O. Jacobson Building, home to the Mayo Clinic proton beam therapy program on May 9. The new facility will begin treating patients in late June. More information can be found on Mayo Clinic News Network.

Contact: Joe Dangor

 

 

Reach:  NBC News Digital reaches an audience of more than 58 million unique visitors. NBC Nightly News continues to be the top rated evening newscast with more than 7.7 million viewers each night. Dateline NBC, averages more than 5.6 million viewers. 

CBS News, Flashback 1988: "Tans are out" and pasty white is in — You wouldn't know it by looking at the rates of skin cancer in the U.S. but there was a time in the late 1980s when a tan look was considered gauche. The anti-tan movement started, of all places, in Los Angeles, California…And the skin cancer rates have worsened over the years. A 2012 Mayo Clinic study found that melanoma in women 18 to 39 increased eight-fold from 1970 to 2009. The researchers in that study speculated that the use of indoor tanning beds was a key culprit in the rising cancer rate.

LA Times, Party For Future Moms, FYOE (Freeze Your Own Eggs) by Mary MacVean… Egg-freezing parties — this one called On Ice — are a thing now. The idea is that not enough women are thinking about this procedure and are not thinking about it soon enough.Critics and proponents say there is little long-term information about the health of children born from frozen eggs. The Mayo Clinic notes that the risks of egg freezing for the woman include rare complications from fertility drugs, as well as emotional risks associated with the limited success rate of becoming a parent.

Huffington Post, A Teacher's Prayer for Peace in the Classroom by Ingrid Peschke… I've found that if I can detect these sneaky thoughts quickly, and do something about them, they lose their foothold. Take grudges, for example. There are plenty of studies that show how holding onto past wrongs is a negative influence on health. One from the Mayo Clinic  points out that choosing a path of forgiveness leads to physical, emotional and spiritual well-being.

Huffington Post, The Fight Continues -- We Will Not Give Up! by Alexis Buryk — The New York Times did a story on Katie and Allie and their disease. Dr Lisa Sanders does a diagnosis column where she gives the symptoms, and asks you to be the doctor and guess the diagnosis. Would you have guessed from the symptoms and doctor's reports? It took us over 8 years to find a diagnosis. Many neurologists and a trip to the Mayo Clinic. Still didn't have the answer until we did genome sequencing. Here is the Times Part II of the symptoms solved.

Yahoo! Sports,Dose: Writing on the Wall by Mike Gallagher — Thursday was not a very exciting day for the NBA and it's strange the schedule makers decided to go with so many double-headers while leaving Thursday open. Oh well. The good news is that every series is tied 1-1 and we won’t be getting any sweeps. The bad news of the day is the Wizards announced John Wall has five non-displaced fractures in his wrist. Here’s an image via Mayo Clinic of the eight wrist bones meeting the five metacarpal bones…

Yahoo! Health Canada, Why a Piece of String Could Be Better than BMI by Korin Miller…Researchers from Oxford Brookes University in the UK have found that measuring a person’s height with string, folding that piece of string in half, and making sure that it can fit comfortably around the waist is a better indicator than BMI of whether someone has too much body fat…While calculating a person’s body fat using the string method is effective for finding people with excess fat, it also has its flaws, says Francisco Lopez-Jimenez, MD, director of preventive cardiology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. By using this method, a doctor could miss someone who is thin but who still carries a disproportionate amount of fat around the midsection, which can also increase risk for certain diseases.

USA Today, Cellphone photo revealed toddler's eye cancer by Mary Bowerman —Typically overexposed cellphone pictures are annoying, but an Illinois mom's camera flash helped save her toddler's life.…Doctors told Julie and her husband, Patrick, that 75% of Avery's eye was covered in tumors. He was diagnosed with retinoblastoma, a rare cancer that develops in the retina. One of the symptoms of the disease is a white color in the pupil when light is shined in the eye, according to Michael W. Stewart, professor and chair of Ophthalmology, at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Fla. Stewart said while it's "absolutely safe" for parents to use a camera flash to see if a child has white pupils, "it's in no way a perfect predicator of retinoblastoma."

Men’s Health, The Weird Thing That Can Mess with Your Prostate by Alex Gardner — Sitting too much might not just give you a big belly—it can also raise the red flag for your prostate health. As your activity level drops, your blood levels of a certain protein linked to prostate cancer spike, according to research published in the Journal of Physical Activity and Health.…Now, this study didn’t measure rates of prostate cancer in these guys with spiked PSA levels, so we can’t definitively say that sedentary behavior causes cancer. But it’s a possibility, says study coauthor Manish Kohli, M.D., an associate professor of oncology at the Mayo Clinic.

FOX News, Can too much vitamin D be toxic?... In fact, there was no link between people's vitamin D levels and their blood calcium levels. "We found that, even in those with high levels of vitamin D over 50 ng/mL, there was not an increased risk of hypercalcemia, or elevated serum calcium, with increasing levels of vitamin D," study co-author Dr. Thomas D. Thacher, a family medicine expert at Mayo Clinic, said in a statement. Additional coverage: Yahoo! Canada

Reuters, Insight - How DNA sequencing is transforming the hunt for new drugs by Julie Steenhuysen — Drug manufacturers have begun amassing enormous troves of human DNA in hopes of significantly shortening the time it takes to identify new drug candidates, a move some say is transforming the development of medicines…Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, which is in charge of the precision medicine project, identified Regeneron among a short list of potential contributors to the 1 million-strong DNA study. Others on the list include Kaiser Permanente, Mayo Clinic, and the Marshfield Clinic in Wisconsin. A decision is expected by early fall.

Washington Post, My daughter’s night terrors are my nightmares by Darlena Cunha…There are a few things parents can do to try to prevent these sleep terrors. The National Institutes for Health recommend minimizing stressful activities and using coping mechanisms to help soothe the child. My daughter has a blanket she still sometimes sleeps with from when she was an infant. If I know she’s had a stressful day, I make sure she has it with her in bed. The Mayo Clinic advises starting a calming bedtime routine including story reading and cuddling before bed.

Advisory.com, How Mayo Clinic restructured nurse reporting relationships to drive integration — To drive integration, leaders at Mayo Clinic restructured reporting relationships so that all nurses—regardless of setting—report through solid lines up to the senior-most nurse leader. Learn from Pamela Johnson, Mayo Clinic's Chief Nursing Officer, about the benefits of Mayo Clinic’s solid-line nurse reporting relationships.

TIME, 10 Foods You’re Probably Eating Wrong by Sarah Bruning…Flaxseeds…According to Katherine Zeratsky, RD, a registered dietitian with the Mayo Clinic, most experts actually recommend eating flaxseeds ground. Buy them pre-ground or throw them in a coffee grinder, spice mill, or a specially designed flax mill so you don’t end up flushing the health benefits away.

HealthLeaders Media, Clinical Collaboration Helps Virginia Hospital Center Remain Independent…Finding the right culture fit — As part of that strategy, Virginia Hospital Center joined the Mayo Clinic Care Network in February 2015. Launched in 2011, the network now has 32 member organizations across 19 states, Puerto Rico, and Mexico. One reason his organization decided to become part of the network, Stanton says, is cultural fit. "Mayo has a very prescriptive sequence they go through to vet whether or not a hospital is the right fit to be part of the Mayo Clinic Care Network. As we were looking for those opportunities to collaborate, Mayo was the first name that came to mind, and as we were researching them, we saw a lot of similarities with Virginia Hospital Center," he says.

Yahoo! Health, 7 Things Your Balance (Or Lack Thereof) Says About You…Any issue with your inner ear, from an infection to hearing loss, will make you feel unsteady. The inner ear has five, hair-like sensors that manage your balance—three that monitor rotation and two that keep track of up and down motions, says David Zapala, PhD, an audiologist at the Mayo Clinic who specializes in balance disorders.

La Crosse Tribune, Posthumously honored care-giver inspired co-workers by Mike Tighe — Laura Finseth Scott touched co-workers’ hearts so tenderly in her few short years in the Family Birthplace that her death in a one-car crash at age 27 was devastating to them. Easing the heartache was the posthumous presentation of a DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses for Scott during the annual Nurses Day celebration Friday at Mayo Clinic Health System-Franciscan Healthcare in La Crosse. Scott’s mother, Mary Finseth of Fountain, Minn., accepted the top nursing honor for her daughter.

WKBT La Crosse, Mayo Clinic Health System in La Crosse celebrates Nurses Day…Mayo Clinic Health System in La Crosse hosted its annual "Nurses Day Celebration." The day is a way to honor nurses for all the work that they do. The chief nurse at Mayo in La Crosse says nursing can sometimes be a thankless job, but recognizing their efforts is just a small way to let them know they're appreciated.

News4Jax Fla., Allergies and medicines — Allergy medications are available as pills, liquids, inhalers, nasal sprays, eyedrops, skin creams and even shots. Which method works the best? Which one hurts the problem? Dr. Vandana Bhide, an internal doctor at Mayo Clinic, breaks it all down.

Glamour magazine, How Healthy Are You, Really?... Do you sit for more than five hours on an average day? You're unusual-and that's a good thing!  "The average woman sits 50 to 70 percent of her day," says James Levine, M. D., Ph.D., a professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix and author of Get Up! "But the more you move, the better your health. It's like putting money in a savings account."

Post-Bulletin, Paul Scott: How much is a miracle pill worth?... Why so much effort to sell a drug targeted to so few? Because it costs a lot. Harvoni costs $1,125 a pill, in fact. That's not a typo. The drug requires a 90-day course that charges an insurer $94,500. …What Harvoni does do is cure Hepatitis C in 90 percent of those who take it. "These drugs have basically revolutionized the treatment of hepatitis C," said Dr. Kymberly Watt, a liver specialist at Mayo Clinic. "This is a cure." Watt describes the drugs as nothing short of transformative in the care of her patients, a vast improvement over the outcomes and side effects of interferon drugs that preceded them. Mayo insurance pays for them.

Albert Lea Tribune, Albert Lean races past cancer by Micah Bader — Training for the Land Between the Lakes Duathlon was a battle beyond physical conditioning for Chris Utz. For the last year and a half, he’s been treating multiple myeloma — cancer of plasma cells, a type of white blood cell — with chemotherapy. “It’s harder,” he said. “You just don’t have the energy some days. Hemoglobin carries the oxygen to the blood, and that’s dropped with the chemo. I can’t run as fast as I used to.”… Utz, a physical therapist at Mayo Clinic Health System in Albert Lea for the last 18 years, said he enjoys competitive sports.

Fairmont Sentinel, Psychologist offers insight on emotions by Jason Sorensen — Dr. Brian Koranda, a behavioral health psychologist at Mayo Clinic Health System-Fairmont, says people can deal with harsh emotions in a positive and constructive way. May is Mental Health Awareness Month and Koranda's talk at the Martin County Library on Thursday was hosted by the South Central Community Based Initiative, a group that advocates for mental health consumers.

YourWestValley Ariz., Youth football tackles concussions by Nick Smith…Head injuries in collegiate and professional football have come under intense scrutiny the last few years, and attention has trickled down to the youngest levels of the sport. Many argue youth tackle football has the biggest responsibility of all, as the heads and bodies of young players are still forming. “The younger brain is more vulnerable to concussion,” said Dr. David Dodick, director of the Mayo Clinic concussion program in Phoenix. “Simply because our brain is made up of billions of wires, most of which are insulated…

Post-Bulletin, How eggs became healthy again by Paul Scott…Once your body senses the presence of too much dietary cholesterol, moreover, it dials back its own production and increases its excretion of cholesterol. It may sound like a sophisticated finding, but we've known this for years. "This isn't really anything new," said Dr. Donald Hensrud, MD, Medical Director of the Mayo Clinic Healthy Living Program. In fact, Ancel Keys, the noted University of Minnesota physiologist whose work in the 1960's and 1970's pioneered today's advice to avoid saturated fat concluded in 1955 that dietary cholesterol had little effect on blood cholesterol….

iOL New Zealand, Alzheimer’s: what not to worry about — Lose the car keys, forget a name, read a Top 10 list of dementia’s warning signs, and the worry begins. “Even more epidemic than Alzheimer’s itself is the fear of Alzheimer’s,” said Richard Lipton, who heads the Einstein Aging Study at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. So, in an attempt to offer some perspective, here’s another list. We interviewed three experts: Lipton, who also heads the division of cognitive ageing and dementia at Montefiore Medical Centre; Ronald C Petersen, director of the Mayo Clinic’s Alzheimer’s Disease Research Centre…

Austin Daily Herald, A goal of more biking…To encourage trail use, we are promoting Bike/Walk to School and Bike/Walk to Work Day on Friday, May 15. Thank you to employers Mayo Clinic Health System – Albert Lea and Austin, the city of Austin, and Mower County for encouraging your employees to bike or walk to work. Ask your employer to support Bike/Walk to Work day with incentives like casual dress for those who bike or walk to work.

Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal, Editor's Picks: Seven Things To Know While You Wait For Your Last Issue Of Vita.Mn…Mayo plans big Wisconsin campus: Rochester-based Mayo Clinic plans to build a campus near La Crosse, Wis., that would have enough space for 3,800 workers. Mayo, which spent $8.32 million to buy 187 acres of land in Onalaska, Wis., for the project last year, already employs nearly that many workers in the area,- it's not clear if it plans to move them to the new site or hire more.

Star Tribune, Our five faves this week:…3 Doctors at the Mayo Clinic gave Tom Brokaw the bad news. He had multiple myeloma, a rare and treatable, but not curable, cancer. In his new memoir, “A Lucky Life Interrupted,” the newsman, 75, writes about a year of treatment — the gratitude, the pain, the frustration, the fear. In between, he weaves in tales of some of the great stories he has covered — the fall of the Berlin Wall, interviews with the Dalai Lama and Nelson Mandela, 9/ 11. “I missed my old life,” he writes.

Fierce Medical Devices, Mayo Clinic study finds digital health interventions reduce risk of cardiovascular disease by Varun Saxena — Digital health interventions like telemedicine and text message reminders reduce the relative risk of cardiovascular disease by 40%, concludes a Mayo Clinic meta-analysis of 51 previous studies, affirming the growing use of technology as an adjunct to traditional devices in healthcare.

Green Bay Press Gazette, Living donors form links in organ donation chains by Nathan Phelps — A 68-person kidney transplant chain ends with Mitzi Neyens. The 77-year-old Wausau resident was the last link in a chain of donations that started in Minnesota, spread across the country, and ended at the University of Wisconsin transplant program in late March in Madison...The transplant was performed in early December at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. His brother lives in Lake City, a small southern Minnesota town.

The World Folio, Suez Canal Zone to contribute 25% of GDP in next 25 years —Hussein Sabbour, the preeminent Egyptian figure in real estate and consulting, speaks of his firm's involvement in the Suez Canal project and the growing appetite from foreign investors to capitalize on manufacturing opportunities in the SCZone.…For instance, we want to build modern hospitals so that patients from the Gulf come to Egypt instead of going to Europe or the United States. A Saudi partner is trying to make an agreement with Mayo Clinic: he wants to set new hospitals in Egypt, with Egyptian doctors, but give full management to the Mayo Clinic. In that way, people from the Gulf could have an option that is closer to their homes, where they speak a familiar language, but with the quality of an American or European hospital.

Modern Healthcare, Mayo Clinic feels pinch of rising costs by Beth Kutscher —The Mayo Clinic, which had been diligently cutting expenses over the past year, has started to see those costs creep up again in the first quarter of 2015. The Rochester, Minn.-based system reported increases in salaries and benefits as well as supply costs that offset a 5.7% gain in revenue for the period ended March 31. Salaries and benefits rose 7% while supply costs jumped 16.2% at the 24-hospital group.

News4Jax, Unbreakable bond…Channel 4's Scott Johnson shows us how these 4 military veterans took to the water to save their own lives and gained even more in the process... News4Jax went along with Tiger to the Mayo Clinic. He needed new batteries in the pacemaker that helped him get back in the water. "He’s been through a lot but he keeps having a lot of different procedures and making it through every single time," said Tiger's daughter, Mary Roebuck. Both Mary and Tiger's doctor, Dan Hardigan, credit Tiger's swimming for saving his life. "I think the exercise itself in keeping his body mass index down and percentage body fat down and his overall conditioning, I know that’s why he’s still here," the Mayo Clinic physician added.

KTTC, Allergy Season on the Rise in Upper Midwest… Although prescription and over the counter treatments are available and effective, the effects of allergies may still afflict some. "Environmental control, unlike say if you have a cat or a dog or a dust mite, is hard for the outdoor allergens. You want kids to be able to play outside. So we don't really say oh, stay indoors, although sometimes what we will say is close the windows at night," said Dr. Marsha Hartz, a Mayo Clinic allergist.

Las Vegas Journal Review, Thyroid helps control metabolism, keep organs on track by Art Nadler…Infants with hypothyroid problems may exhibit some of these signs: skin appears yellow and the whites of the eyes are jaundiced, frequently chokes, face seems puffy and they have a large protruding tongue. Dr. Charles Bingham, an endocrinologist with the Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire, Wis., says most thyroid disease symptoms don’t appear until they become severe. A blood test to screen for thyroid problems can be ordered by the primary care physician and an in-office simple examination can be performed.

WEAU Eau Claire, Asparagus, Tomato and Feta Salad — It's not summer yet, but nature's bounty is already on full display. Farmer's markets are open now in Western Wisconsin and they offer a wealth of healthy choices. "When you shop at the farmer's market you're supporting your local farmers and your local producers, but also eating in season you're going to gather the most nutrients from those vegetables and fruits that you're purchasing at the farmer's market," nutrition educator Katie Johnson, with Mayo Clinic Health System said.

Le Sueur News-Herald, Le Sueur's Mary Sasse has ALS, no voice, and a message to send…She will take part in the ALS Stem Cell Trial at Mayo Clinic in Rochester; one of only 25 to participate in the brand new study out of the 30,000 Americans battling the disease. The results are unpredictable, which to Sasse, is so much better than the predictability of death. “It (stem cell research) will change the face of medicine,” Sasse wrote. “And I get to be a pioneer. Live or die, they will learn.”

MobiHealthNews, Six new health-related initiatives for IBM’s Watson by Jonah Comstock — IBM Watson partners with Mayo Clinic, Epic: Watson’s cognitive computing platform will integrate with Epic’s EHR, allowing doctors to use Watson for clinical decision support in the way that some cancer centers already do. The technology could help “develop patient treatment protocols, personalize patient management for chronic conditions, and intelligently assist doctors and nurses by providing relevant evidence from the worldwide body of medical knowledge, putting new insight into the hands of clinical staff,” IBM wrote in a release. Although the integration is being tested at the Mayo Clinic, it could be rolled out to other Epic customers in the future.

Commercial Property Executive, Mayo Clinic Debuts $180M Proton-Beam Therapy Center in Rochester — Mayo Clinic has finally opened its Richard O. Jacobson Building at 190 Second St., N.W., in downtown Rochester, Minn., after three years of construction work. The 100,000-square-foot building is home to the Mayo Clinic proton-beam therapy program, an innovative cancer treatment that involves pencil-beam scanning. The clinic is building a second proton-beam therapy facility at its Scottsdale, Ariz., campus. Additional Coverage, The Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal

KAAL, Small Group Protests the Practice of Circumcision in Rochester — A small group in downtown Rochester is protesting the practice of circumcision. As you can see from the pictures, they're wearing white clothes with red stains and carrying signs meant to grab attention. While none of the protestors are from Rochester, they say they chose the Med City due to Mayo Clinic. Additional coverage: BringMeTheNews

FOX News, Pregnancy tests in Alaska bars aim to dissuade moms-to-be from drinking… Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs) refer to the various conditions that result from fetal alcohol syndrome, which are complications caused by alcohol exposure in the womb. Conditions that affect babies exposed to alcohol include irreversible brain damage and growth problems, according to the Mayo Clinic.

FOX News, Former Toronto mayor Rob Ford regains consciousness after undergoing cancer surgery — Doctors have removed a cancerous tumor from former Toronto Mayor Rob Ford's abdomen and he has regained consciousness after an intensive surgery that kept him under anesthesia for about 10 hours, his chief of staff said late Monday…. The disease-- considered a type of soft tissue sarcoma-- can occur in fat cells in any part of the body, but mostly occurs in the muscles of the limbs or in the abdomen, according to the Mayo Clinic website.

Health Affairs blog, We Are Engaged! A Commitment To Patients by Anubhav Kaul…Paul Levy, the former CEO of BIDMC, used his blog to openly discuss the hospital’s safety and clinical outcomes data, and highlighted where improvements were needed to better the system and enhance the patient experience. Other institutions like Mayo Clinic have created online forums,which host a wide variety of discussion groups, blog posts, and community events, but most importantly provide an alternate non-acute platform for provider-patient interaction.

MSN.com (Men’s Health), The Weird Thing That Can Mess with Your Prostate by Alex Gardner — Sitting too much might not just give you a big belly—it can also raise the red flag for your prostate health. As your activity level drops, your blood levels of a certain protein linked to prostate cancer spike, according to research published in the Journal of Physical Activity and Health…Now, this study didn’t measure rates of prostate cancer in these guys with spiked PSA levels, so we can’t definitively say that sedentary behavior causes cancer. But it’s a possibility, says study coauthor Manish Kohli, M.D., an associate professor of oncology at the Mayo Clinic.

Cedar Rapids Gazette, Hlas: Hoiberg is NBA-bound, but when?... But the last two months have been two of the toughest for Pollard and Hoiberg. On March 10, Pollard had triple bypass surgery following a heart attack he suffered in Cedar Falls. On April 17, Hoiberg had an aortic valve replacement at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. Hoiberg isn’t on the Tailgate Tour, but assistant men’s basketball coach Cornell Mann said his boss is back in the office and “is doing absolutely wonderful.”

West Texas News, Supplemented Mediterranean Diet Enhances Cognitive Well-being by Leah Gardiner…Though the researchers describe the antioxidant-rich foods in a Mediterranean diet as potentially protecting against cognitive decline, however, it has not been ascertained that which aspect of the Mediterranean diet helped to prevent the cognitive decline. Dr. David Knopman, Neurologist, Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, mailed," This diet study is much better than purely observational ones, but it is far from one that provides definitive evidence".

TCT MD, Cardiac Rehab Referral Low, Inconsistent Across US Hospitals…In an editorial accompanying the study, Randal J. Thomas, MD, MS, of the Mayo Clinic (Rochester, MN), makes 3 suggestions for hospitals looking to improve their referral rates. Such institutions can: Prioritize resources for cardiac rehab services, Utilize systematic cardiac rehab referral, Collect, analyze, and respond to local performance data. The study “is a call to action,” Dr. Thomas concludes.

KEYC Mankato, Q & A Event Planned For Cancer Patients On Taste Changes Occuring During Treatment… Many cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy deal with changes in taste depending on the type of cancer, and the chemotherapy treatment. Doctors say taste changes tend to have a different effect on all cancer patients. Mayo Clinic Health System Oncologist Stephan Thome said, "Some patients cannot tolerate spicy foods anymore. The surface lining gets very rough and rough and spicy food is very painful and for others the taste gets very very metallic."

Star Tribune, More doctors embrace meditation as medicine by Allie Shah — The stress of caring for her ailing parents, then grieving their deaths eventually caught up with Sharyn Resvick. She suffered from shooting pain in her shoulder from a pinched nerve. Worse, she could feel her heart pounding and battled feelings of panic. “My body just crashed,” said Resvick, 55, of Plymouth. Instead of going on medication, she took a different tack: meditation. Photo caption: Jennifer Roeller of Bayport listened to a meditation app on an iPad at the Mayo Clinic’s Healthy Living outpost at the Mall of America.

Red Wing Republican Eagle, This isn’t Mayosota by Pat Hinrichs of Zumbrota — To the Editor: I am writing in concern of the Zip Rail problem. Whether publically or privately funded, it will still be a problem for Minnesota farmers, schools and all who travel north to south highways. Because of the problems it is going to cause:   This is a farming state and we are losing too much farm land all the time to high lines and broadening highways. Very soon there will be no farmland left — no food… The only people that will benefit from the rail are Mayo Clinic employees and travelers. I don’t remember that our state has been renamed Mayosota.

Red Wing Republican Eagle, Service to honor miscarried babies — A perinatal memorial service will be held noon Friday at the Babyland area in Oakwood Cemetery to honor the memory of babies that died in utero prior to 20 weeks within the last year at Mayo Clinic Health System in Red Wing. The Rev. Karen Hanson will officiate the service for those gathered to have a time for dedication and reflection.    "In my experience, loss through miscarriage is quite an individual experience," Hanson said. "The effects of loss may not be felt immediately, but only after reflection. That’s why it’s important to offer this service as a resource for those going through the grieving process."

Huffington Post, Sandra Lee Reveals She Has Breast Cancer, Andrew Cuomo To Take 'Personal Time' — Celebrity chef Sandra Lee revealed Tuesday she'll undergo a double mastectomy after being diagnosed with breast cancer. Lee, 48, was diagnosed with DCIS (ductal carcinoma in situ), according to People magazine. DCIS is considered the earliest form of breast cancer, according to the Mayo Clinic, and is defined as the "presence of abnormal cells inside a milk duct in the breast." While DCIS is a noninvasive form of breast cancer, meaning it hasn't yet left the milk duct, it does require treatment to keep it from becoming invasive. Additional coverage: LA Times

Post-Bulletin, Sister Generose Gervais receives honorary doctorate by Paul Scott — Sister Generose Gervais, of the Order of Saint Francis, was presented with an honorary doctorate during commencement ceremonies on May 9 at Saint Mary's University in Winona. Gervais was awarded the Doctorate of Humanities in recognition of "her commitment to Catholic health care and for her many years of service at Mayo Clinic Hospital-Saint Marys Campus," according to a SMU statement.

iHealthBeat, How Hospitals Are Leveraging Social Media by Lisa Zamosky — The majority of hospitals throughout the U.S. have some kind of social media presence. Today, at least 1,576 hospitals use social media outlets such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, FourSquare and blogs, according to the Mayo Clinic Social Media Network's Health Care Social Media List, which tracks hospital social media presence by state and platform.

Chicago Magazine, A Chicago Developer is Building Eco-Friendly Houses for Pro Athletes by Ian Spula… Evolutionary Home Builders (EHB) calls it their “Pro Homes” program: modified design/build that makes extra concessions to health and high-performance in materials and technology and hopes to find pro athletes to buy into it…EHB rigorously tested air quality in its existing green homes and got certified under a new human health and wellness standard for buildings, the Well Building Standard. This is the first medically researched building certification, honed by the International Well Building Institute, Cleveland Clinic, and Mayo Clinic.

U.S. News and World Report, Healthy Aging: Preserving Your Bones and Joints by Lisa Esposito … As aging conspires to chip away at your bone and joint health, experts explain what you can do to maintain these through every phase of life: Start Early Bone and joint health begin in childhood, says Dr. Sundeep Khosla, director of the Aging Bone, Muscle and Joint Program within the Mayo Clinic's Kogod Center on Aging. "Physical activity is important for loading the bones and helping them develop as strong as they can," Khosla says. Parents can watch that kids don't replace milk with sodas, thereby missing out on calcium. And it's never too soon to discourage smoking, which can affect bone mass.

GenomeWeb, Mayo, Baylor Collaborate on Pharmacogenomics Sequencing Study — The Mayo Clinic and Baylor College of Medicine today announced a collaboration to study genomic links to drug metabolism and other interactions and whether preemptive alerts to physicians about those links can improve patient care….The study is notable because it will sequence patients' genomes, rather than genotype them, Richard Weinshilboum, director of Mayo Clinic's Center for Individualized Medicine pharmacogenomics program, told GenomeWeb.

MedPage Today, MS: A New 'Model' and a Possible New Treatment by Kristina Fiore — One report suggests a paradigm shift for MS, and a second hints at a breakthrough for a monoclonal antibody. …Dean Wingerchuk, MD, of the Mayo Clinic in Arizona, who was not involved in the study, said the "prospect of having a truly neuroprotective or remyelinating therapy is very exciting and this early-phase protocol begins to address the unmet need of limiting the degree of lasting neurological injury that results from acute MS attacks."

Nature, Prevention: Tending the gut by Laura Gravitz…Moreover, few scientists have the funds or the institutional structure to power the large and lengthy studies required to demonstrate effective prevention. “It takes a while for the progression of events to happen, and it's difficult to get a trial organized, completed and funded that can measure meaningful endpoints,” says gastroenterologist Paul Limburg, director of preventive services at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Very few such studies have been designed for colorectal cancer, he says.

Nature, Screening: Early alert…Detecting DNA by Cassandra Willyard —  Cologuard provides another screening option. The stool test combines FIT with analysis to detect specific genetic markers — mutations in KRAS, a gene involved in cell division that is often mutated in colorectal cancer, and chemical modifications of two other genes associated with the disease. These markers provide a signature of the presence or absence of cancer, says David Ahlquist, a gastroenterologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, who helped to develop Cologuard. “While many cancers and polyps don't bleed, they all shed cells.”

The Tennessean, Stand up for a healthy life by Dave Kirgen — Sitting for long periods at work or at home can be as dangerous to our health as smoking or obesity. Dr. James Levine of the Mayo Clinic says that regularly sitting in front of the television, behind the wheel or at a desk for more than four hours at a time will significantly increase our risk of cardiovascular disease. Also, a few hours per week engaged in moderate or vigorous activity doesn't seem to significantly offset that risk.

Augusta Chronicle, Activity can slow cognitive decline, study suggests by Anant Mandawat…In a new study on mild cognitive impairment, Dr. Rosebud Roberts, a professor of neurology and epidemiology at the Mayo Clinic, and colleagues studied a group of about 250 patients who were age 85 or older and had normal cognitive function at the start of the study. At the beginning of the study, researchers asked patients to report their involvement in artistic, craft, social and computer activities when they were 50 years old (defined as middle age) and now (defined as late age). They followed patients for a median of four years, during which time about 50 percent of patients developed mild cognitive impairment.

Austin Daily Herald, Mayo seeks to answer what care is best for each situation — Evolutions in health care services and strategy have given patients a variety of options when it comes to receiving care from a provider at Mayo Clinic Health System in Austin. However, sometimes understanding what type of care is best for a particular patient need is challenging. Should you go to Urgent Care? Can you address your needs over the phone? Is it best to wait to schedule an appointment with your care team? That’s why the clinic is looking to help patients better understand their options. “Getting the right care at the right place and time is important,” said Dr. Greg Angstman, a family medicine physician. “And, as health care providers, our goal is to help you understand how to do just that.”

Medscape, 'Cautionary Lesson' About Metformin for Pancreatic Cancer by Nick Mulcaly — The great hope that the diabetes drug metformin will be a life-extending treatment for pancreatic cancer looks a bit shaky, according to a new study. Hope has been rooted in a couple of factors, suggested lead author Roongruedee Chaiteerakij, MD, PhD, from the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center in Rochester, Minnesota.

WAPT, Mayo Clinic News Network: Diabetes: Testing for early indicators — Mayo Clinic Health System family medicine provider Steven Adamson, M.D., says, "Although the amount of sugar in your blood fluctuates, the range is relatively narrow," says . "After fasting all night, most people have levels between 70 and 100 milligrams of glucose per deciliter of blood (mg/dL). That’s the equivalent of about one teaspoon of sugar in a gallon of water. If you consistently have fasting glucose levels above 125 mg/dL, you likely have diabetes."

Healthcare Dive, Mayo Clinic's costs outpace revenue by Julie Henry…Dive Insight: Although the Mayo Clinic has made an effort to reduce expenses by outsourcing medical transcription positions and increasing employee cost-sharing for health benefits, its operating surplus is down $67 million from the first quarter of last year, according to Modern Healthcare. Revenue increased from $2.4 billion to 2.5 billion.

Post-Bulletin, Destination Medical Center property tax relief caught in end-of-session politics by Heather Carlson — Whether Rochester property owners must pay millions in Destination Medical Center costs will be decided in end-of-session legislative haggling. Rochester leaders want lawmakers to allow the city to use a recently-approved quarter cent sales tax increase to pay for DMC administrative costs. Otherwise, the money will likely have to come from Rochester property taxpayers. The price tag for those administrative costs is expected to be $21 million over the next five years. Additional coverage: Post-Bulletin

The Brain Blogger, Debunking the Myths of Marijuana Withdrawal “Syndrome” by Carla Clark, Ph.D…Moreover, the chance of getting hooked if you smoke it for the first time after age 25 is practically nil, as described by Professor of Psychiatry, J. Michael Bostwick, M.D. in a paper published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings: “The risk for new-onset dependence is essentially zero after the age of 25 years, whereas cocaine dependence continues to accrue until the age of 45 years. Likewise, the average age at first alcohol use is the same as for marijuana, but alcohol users will keep on making the transition from social use to dependence for decades after first use.”

WXOW La Crosse, Onalaska's Common Council approves traffic impact study for new Mayo Clinic campus — A new Mayo Clinic Health System campus in Onalaska is moving closer to reality. Tuesday night Onalaska's Common Council approved the traffic impact study that would lead to road expansion to handle increased traffic on the land where the development would be built.

News Oklahoma, Our obsession with the sun — Warm weather is here, and for most of us that means fun activities in the sun and getting a tan. While spending time outdoors in the sun may be physically and mentally healthy, keeping the activity from becoming unhealthy can require simple, yet specific actions. According to a study by Mayo Clinic, there has been a rise in melanoma among people ages 18-39. The study found rates of this skin cancer had grown by 800 percent among young women, and 400 percent among young men in the last 40 years.

El Horizonte, ¿Qué es la artritis reumatoide? Los estudios demuestran que cuando una persona padece artritis reumatoide, el riesgo de desarrollar alguna enfermedad cardíaca es el doble o el triple de quienes no sufren ese trastorno, afirmó la doctora Rekha Mankad. La artritis reumatoide es una enfermedad inflamatoria que hincha y afecta a las articulaciones pequeñas de las manos y los pies, tornándolas sensibles, dolorosas y rígidas, explica la doctora de Mayo Clinic en Rochester, Minnesota, Estados Unidos.

Yahoo! Noticias, 10 consejos para acabar con la fatiga visual digital por Dayana Lara… Reduce los reflejos Puedes instalar en tus aparatos filtros anti reflejo, cambiar el contraste de la pantalla y el brillo, o/y eliminar los objetos de tu alrededor que generen mucha iluminación, ya que esto fuerza tu vista para ver claramente los objetos, indican expertos de Mayo Clinic.

AARP Espanol, 10 consejos para cuidar tu piel naturalmente…Deja de fumar… Además, según la Mayo Clinic, fumar reduce los pequeños vasos sanguíneos que se encuentran en las capas externas de la piel y esto hace disminuir el flujo de sangre en las mismas.

Yahoo! Noticias, 7 bebidas que te ayudan a mejorar tu digestion… Agua natural Especialistas de Mayo Clinic afirman que tomar agua durante y después de los alimentos beneficia la digestión, contrario a lo que se cree, que puede diluirse con los jugos digestivos y hacer pesado este proceso.

Yahoo! Deportes, Del Potro sigue lejos de la raqueta, pero aún busca soluciones…Por el momento no intensificó sus entrenamientos pensando en la competencia, pero sí está analizando la posibilidad de hacer nuevas consultas médicas en las próximas semanas en España -no sería Ángel Ruiz Cotorro, de la Federación Española de Tenis y que también supervisa a Rafael Nadal-, lo que no significa que su vínculo con el cirujano Richard Berger, que lo operó en la clínica Mayo de Rochester, EE.UU., haya finalizado.

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