Mayo Clinic Cancer Center

Photos courtesy of Mayo Clinic

Welcoming Dr. Cheryl Willman.

Mayo Clinic welcomes Dr. Cheryl Willman to lead its world-class cancer center. Dr. Willman’s research and expertise includes the study of genomic, environmental, and behavioral factors that lead to cancers that disproportionately affect underserved, vulnerable, or racial and ethnic minority communities, leading to disparities in cancer incidence and outcome. Mayo Clinic is committed to achieving health equity and overcoming our nation’s tremendous cancer health disparities. Dr. Willman’s extensive knowledge on the subject will help drive this commitment forward and help us make a lasting impact.

Supporting our diverse communities.

Providing care to diverse communities starts with deep and respectful community engagement and understanding, and fully addressing the needs and priorities identified by the communities we serve. At Mayo Clinic Cancer Center, our discovery science will be informed by community priorities, leading to incredible breakthroughs and the development of more effective means to diagnose, prevent, and treat cancer. By expanding access, developing innovative platforms including telemedicine and digital health allowing care at home, and supporting diverse communities through partnerships and expanding the role of health care navigators, we will disseminate the world class cancer care available at the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center—a truly virtual cancer program accessible to all.

Treatments tailored to you.

Understanding each individual person, even to the genetic level, is the best way to tailor treatments to each specific situation. That’s why we use genomic information plus an extensive clinical trial portfolio to find the most promising treatment plan possible. In addition to the options provided by clinical trials, Mayo Clinic Cancer Center is the only proton beam facility in Minnesota. This intensity-modulated proton beam therapy with pencil beam scanning allows our radiation oncologists to destroy cancer while sparing healthy tissue. It’s this access to cutting-edge technology, leading research, and clinical studies that helps Mayo Clinic Cancer Center provide options that don’t exist elsewhere.

Opportunity through clinical trials.

Mayo Clinic Cancer Center participates in the Minnesota Cancer Clinical Trials Network, which aims to provide greater access to clinical trials for all Minnesotans, and to improve cancer outcomes. We also have an Early Cancer Therapeutics Group that offers the opportunity to join an early-phase clinical trial of a potential new treatment for patients whose cancers haven’t responded to standard chemotherapy or other treatments. These opportunities to access new and experimental procedures and treatments can provide hope in situations where there previously were no next steps.