- With Mayo Clinic oncologist
Edward T. Creagan, M.D.
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Edward T. Creagan, M.D.
Edward T. Creagan, M.D.
"The magic of the electronic village is transforming health information. The mouse and keyboard have extended the stethoscope to the 500 million people now online." - Dr. Edward Creagan
The power of the medium inspires Dr. Edward Creagan as he searches for ways to share Mayo Clinic's vast resources with the general public.
Dr. Creagan, a Newark, N.J., native, is board certified in internal medicine, medical oncology, and hospice medicine and palliative care. He has been with Mayo Clinic since 1973 and in 1999 was president of the staff of Mayo Clinic. Dr. Creagan, a professor of medical oncology at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, was honored in 1995 with the John and Roma Rouse Professor of Humanism in Medicine Award and in 1992 with the Distinguished Mayo Clinician Award, Mayo's highest recognition. He has been recognized with the American Cancer Society Professorship of Clinical Oncology.
He describes his areas of special interest as "wellness as a bio-psycho-social-spiritual-financial model" and fitness, mind-body connection, aging and burnout.
Dr. Creagan has been an associate medical editor with Mayo Clinic's Web sites and has edited publications and CD-ROMs and reviewed articles.
"We the team of (the Web site) provide reliable, easy-to-understand health and wellness information so that each of us can have productive, meaningful lives," he says.
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Stress blog
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May 30, 2009
Blog: The power of faith
By Edward T. Creagan, M.D.
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A word of background: Our Palliative Care Service assists patients in the hospitals with quality of life issues and symptom control. Typically, the patients we see have been through surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy or other interventions.
This particular patient was a gentleman in his late 30s, a father of four and a member of a tight-knit farming community in another state.
He had a congenital heart defect for which he had undergone multiple open-heart procedures and tried the most up-to-date cardiac medications as well as pacemakers — all to no avail. The only option left was a heart transplant, but for a variety of medical and technical reasons this was not a viable option for this patient.
When our team shared this information with him and his family, he reacted with a remarkable sense of peace and acceptance, made possible by his profound faith in a "higher power." The medical staff was moved, and a few tears were shed. In a reversal of roles, it was the patient who comforted us. He acknowledged that all reasonable avenues had been explored, and he was facing the future with dignity and serenity.
As we walked out of the room, no one spoke. But as the days unfolded, many of us reminisced about this remarkable man and how he harnessed the power of faith to deal with adversity.
I am certain that many of our blog members have had similar experiences. We would like to hear your stories.
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