The life and loves of Hollis Youngner, 37, pulse throughout her home in St. Simons Island, Georgia, on a sunlit summer morning. On the dining room table, her 7-year-old daughter, Hayes, pieces together an intricate jigsaw puzzle. On a nearby chair, amid curios on the walls and in the living room from Hollis' career as a teacher and her survival of breast cancer, her parents, Pete and Cappy Livezey, recount the story of how they first met. A few moments later, her husband, Josh, appears from his office downstairs to enjoy a takeout lunch from the family's favorite bodega.

Who could blame Hollis for savoring a moment like this? A little more than three years ago, a team of critical care physicians, nurses and other staff at Mayo Clinic worked in what her father calls "controlled chaos," trying to restart her heart. For 45 minutes, the team performed CPR on Hollis and delivered other treatments to unclog a pulmonary embolism caused by cancerous fluid around her heart.

That time and teamwork — the hallmarks of the Mayo Clinic Model of Care — made all the difference for Hollis. It not only brought her back to life, but it continues to serve her as a patient of the Robert and Monica Jacoby Center for Breast Health on Mayo Clinic's Florida campus, where she is receiving ongoing care for metastatic breast cancer.

Hollis visits the center every week for team-based care from medical oncologist Alvaro Moreno Aspitia, M.D.; radiation oncologist Laura A. Vallow, M.D.; and a cadre of other professionals. During the past three years, with the support of this team, her family and her faith, Hollis has beat back more than 20 different occurrences of cancer spread, to multiple organs, including four cancerous lesions on her brain.

Most recently, it's been a roller coaster. At the beginning of the summer, she had almost no signs of cancer in her body and two lesions in her brain. Less than two months later, new imaging tests revealed signs of more cancer, including two new lesions in her brain. Nonetheless, Hollis maintains her faith and confidence in the Mayo Clinic Model of Care.

"My Mayo team is my dream team," says Hollis. "I wouldn't be here without them, and I have so many people to thank — the critical care team, my breast cancer team, the nurses and the researchers, who I'm hopeful will continue to develop new treatments to save my life."