- With Mayo Clinic oncologist
Edward T. Creagan, M.D.
read biographyclose windowBiography of
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.
Latest entries
- Stress and illness
Nov. 20, 2009
- Reach out
Nov. 7, 2009
- Focus on the finish line
Oct. 30, 2009
- Set limits
Oct. 24, 2009
- Head in the game
Oct. 17, 2009
Mayo Clinic Health Manager
Get free personalized health guidance for you and your family.
Get Started
About our e-newsletters
- Free e-newsletters
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- We do not share your e-mail address
Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
Housecall Archives
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Stress blog
-
Dec. 14, 2007
A message for the holiday season
By Edward T. Creagan, M.D.
A casual meeting with an old friend at a holiday gathering provided some crucial insights into dealing with stress. Over the past several months, our community has focused on issues such as rest, taking care of ourselves, prioritizing our energies and keeping in the present rather than focusing on the future. He is an important example of why these tactics are so important.
My friend is a gentleman in his early fifties who lives in a large Midwestern city. For many years, he has been a visible and high profile director of a human services agency. Each day his soul is touched by caring for the single mother; the disenfranchised; the marginalized; the homeless; the chemically dependent; the elderly. He provides a voice for those without voices.
On the other hand, his work is touched by a faceless bureaucracy from the state capital which has a simple mantra: cut costs and balance the bottom line regardless of the sufferings that might ensue. This agency is the only safety net that these people have.
For many years, my friend has been able to creatively navigate these troubled administrative orders with dignity and compassion. But the lights went out and the curtain came down on an icy North Dakota highway.
He was involved in a multicar wreck when his car was totaled by an out-of-control tractor trailer. My friend shared with me the deafening sound of shattering glass and twisted metal. His injuries were primarily muscular aches and pains, and these improved over a number of weeks. However, something strange then happened.
Typically a high octane performer, he became drained by midafternoon. At his press conferences, he was clearly irritable and did not have the quick wit which endeared him to so many constituents. His wife noticed that he was becoming more distant and withdrawn.
He sought medical attention and the diagnosis was that of a postconcussion syndrome. He was assured on the basis of tests and scans that this would get better, but it would take time. However, he clearly needed to develop a toolbox of survival.
Here is what the professionals told him:
- Rest, even to the point of taking a nap or curtailing a schedule so that you are home by 3 or 4 o'clock in the afternoon.
- Exercise consisting at a minimum of 20 to 30 minutes of walking on most days of the week.
- Establish an ongoing relationship with a professional mental health provider to walk through some of these frustrations, but most importantly, "thou shall not multitask."
It was explained to him when we do two things at once this overloads the circuits, confusion and errors result, and fatigue becomes magnified.
After several months of following these rules and suggestions, he gradually improved, but he did share with me that the near-death experience made him realize the value of each day; the importance of health; and the catalysts for healing that faith and family can provide.
As we head into our holiday season, may we also have comfort from faith, family, and friends and may our days be filled with peace, joy, and serenity.
2 comments posted