Imagine being diagnosed with bladder cancer as a young woman, and also being told that after surgery you might end up having to use an outside bag to collect urine. It would change your life and make some activities difficult. Doctors at Mayo Clinic strive to make this situation better for patients. They’re constructing new bladders so people like the cancer survivor you’re about to meet can live normal lives.

The symptoms came on fast. Within weeks the woman you’re about to meet went from being completely healthy to lying in the intensive care unit, unable to move, struggling to breathe. A victim of Guillain-Barre syndrome. Listen to her story of sickness and triumph.

Many men diagnosed with prostate cancer win the battle and are cured. Unfortunately some do not. The little girl you’re about to meet lost her dad to prostate cancer. And she turned an event that was extremely tragic into something hopeful. At age 10 she participates in triathlons to raise money for prostate cancer research.

Every year about 250-thousand women in the United States are diagnosed with breast cancer. Most of these women were not known to be at high risk. That’s why researchers at Mayo Clinic are looking for better ways to identify who’s at increased risk in order to enhance early detection and, perhaps some day, help these women prevent the disease. They’re finding clues in breast tissue.

The U.S. economy is largely based on science and engineering industries. But some experts say many schools don’t have the tools to produce the quality scientists our economy needs. A doctor at Mayo Clinic is trying to change that. He’s bringing teachers and students into his lab so they can work together to develop new curriculum. And this new line of study is all based on a tiny creature called the zebra fish.

25 billion dollars. That’s how much money is spent every year in the U.S. on patients with heart failure. Much of that money is used on hospital visits. Clinicians and researchers at Mayo Clinic are hoping to change that. They’re testing a new device that can monitor patients at home in hopes of keeping them healthier and out of the hospital longer.

In many high schools across the country there’s a growing concern about kids dropping out of sports.  Some say it’s because pressure to win is just too much.  Others say kids are simply burning out.  A psychologist at Mayo Clinic has some tips on how to keep kids enjoying and thriving in sports.

Marathons, 10-K’s, bike rides and telethons. Events to raise money for diseases like cancer seem to happen all the time. Many of these fund raisers really do make a difference in the race to find a cure. More on how one marathon is raising money to help researchers learn about cancer genes so they can work towards developing better treatments.

This story is all too common on the soccer field and basketball court. A high school athlete jumps to get the ball, lands and blows out a knee. And most of that time those athletes are girls. Girls are four to six times more likely to suffer a certain kind of knee injury than boys. And that’s why sports medicine specialists at Mayo Clinic developed a camp aimed at preventing knee injuries for young female athletes.

Over the last decade, medicine has seen great advances in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Many people with the disease are living longer and many are cured. That’s thanks to cancer research and people who are willing to make sacrifices. Sacrifices such as donating bone marrow.