Dr. Dawn Mussallem is a board-certified Lifestyle Medicine Physician at the Mayo Clinic Jacoby Center for Breast Health where she works with breast cancer patients during and after their diagnosis to heal and thrive using the pillars of lifestyle medicine alongside their conventional cancer treatments.
Dawn has many remarkable stories of patient recovery, but the biggest recovery story of all is her own. You see, in addition to being a physician, teacher, wife, and mother, Mussallem is also a cancer survivor, 2021 heart transplant recipient, and as of February 2022, she's also a marathon finisher!
It's a story you simply have to hear to believe and her passion and positivity will leave a lasting impact. Not only does she acknowledge her family and faith in this decades-long journey, but she also credits her whole foods plant-based diet with her ability to thrive and train with a renewed sense of purpose and boundless energy. It's a life force she brings both to her life and the lives of the patients she works with on a daily basis.
About Dawn Mussallem, DO
Dr. Mussallem is a consultant in the Department of General Internal Medicine at Mayo Clinic and is an Assistant Professor of Medicine. She is a diagnostic breast specialist at The Robert and Monica Jacoby Center for Breast Health and serves as Medical Director for Mayo Clinic Florida Lyndra P. Daniel Center for Humanities in Medicine. Dr. Mussallem is double-board certified, including a board certification in Lifestyle Medicine. She has over 25 years of patient-centered clinical wellness experience with international recognition in the field of breast medicine, lifestyle medicine, integrative oncology, cancer prevention, and cancer survivorship, and a unique personal experience as a stage IV cancer patient diagnosed 3 months into medical school, as well as a heart transplant recipient. She shares that her journey as a patient cultivated her boundless energy and deep purpose to help guide patients toward renewed vitality. In 2015, she founded the Integrative Medicine and Breast Health Program at Mayo Clinic Florida, a patient-centered program that works with breast cancer patients during and after a breast cancer diagnosis, introducing them early on to the importance of lifestyle optimization and evidence-based mind-body practices alongside conventional cancer treatments with a goal to reframe the cancer diagnosis as a “teacher of life,” leading patients to discover renewed vitality through healthier living.
Episode Resources
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Mayo Clinic News Network Story on Dawn
Dawn's Journey from Cancer Survivor to Heart Transplant Recipient
Running to a New Beat - Heart transplant recipient to mark 1-year anniversary with marathon
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Theme Music for Episode
Ep. 203: Jackie Akerberg - Veganism Doesn't Equal Bland. How to Live a "Jackfruitful" Life
Ep. 202: Cyd Notter - Break Down the Barriers to Lasting Habit Change
Ep. 201: Matt Lederman, MD and Alona Pulde, MD - Find Deeper Connections with Your Loved Ones and Go From Wellness to Wonderful
Ep. 200: Plantiful Kiki - Lean Into Loving Yourself
Ep. 199: Vesanto Melina MS, RD and Cory Davis MBA, P.Ag - The Muscle Behind Plant-Powered Protein
Ep. 198: Sgt. Vegan Bill Muir - Called to Serve Humankind, Animals, and Our Planet
Ep. 197: Matthew Rees - A Big Fat Crisis: Uncovering Fact from Fiction about Our Food
Ep. 196: What Excites Ann Crile Esselstyn These Days?
Ep. 195: Kathy Stevens of Catskill Animal Sanctuary - Over Twenty Years of Love Spoken Here
Ep. 194: Kim Campbell - Pure Comfort - Exploring the Delicious World of Plant-Based Comfort Food
Ep. 193: Ruth Morley - This PLANTSTRONG Hiker Makes Plans, Not Excuses
Ep. 192: Max LaManna - You CAN Cook This! How This Social Media Sensation Turns Wasted Food into Mouth Watering Meals
Ep. 191: Richard Marx - 🌱🎸 Rocking the PLANTSTRONG Life 🌱🎸
Ep. 190: Dr. Doug Graham - This Guy Gave Rip a B- on His Diet! What?!
Ep. 189: Rachael Brown - Get H.A.P.P.Y. = Healthy And Plant-Powered, Yay!
Ep. 188: Dr. Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Jr. - Nine Ways a Plant-Based Diet Has Reversed Cardiovascular Disease
Ep. 187: Dr. Benny Gavi and Maya Eylon - Prevent Prostate Cancer with These Four Foods
Ep. 186: Toni Okamoto - You CAN Save Time and Money While Still Being Plant-Based
Ep. 185: Adam Sud - Can a Plantstrong Diet Aid in Addiction Recovery? The Results Are In!
Ep. 184: Camryn Clements - The Plant-Based Cajun Embraces Her Culture
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