This train is a-moving...

UPDATE: Sorry I screwed up the formatting on this post. Ignore the bars on the sides of the text--it's not your computer.

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Well, we met mom's surgeon, the famed Dr. Buckner (my bosses inform me he's a past winner of 417 Magazine's Top Docs award...so there's that), and we couldn't be more impressed. No-nonsense, but extremely reassuring, he made us all feel better about this journey. Here's what the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce had to say about Dr. Buckner on its website. Don't confused: He was in Iraq when this appeared--and will be returning to Iraq in a few months.

"Dr. John W. (Bucky) Buckner, a CoxHealth surgeon now serving in Iraq with the U.S. Army. Dr. Buckner is known for bringing improved cancer diagnostic techniques to the Springfield community. Since early 2005, Dr. Buckner has been part of a forward surgical team in Baghdad where he is serving as a major in the U.S. Army reserves."

Seriously. Dude goes to IRAQ. AND he ran the Boston Marathon. Mom is going to be operated on by Superman.

The big news: The action will begin on Friday, when mom has her lumpectomy, which is the first and most important step for two reasons: 1. It's gets what's left of the tumor out of her body and 2. What they find around the tumor and in the neighboring sentinel cells (basically a lymph system test) will tell us if the cancer has spread. Doc says all indications are it HAS NOT.

If that's the case, mom will begin radiation. Here's where things get exciting. Can I use that word in relation to breast cancer? Maybe. Dr. Buckner is one of a few local doctors who offers the MammoSite treatment. That's where, instead of a external ray of radiation beamed into the breast, a balloon is placed inside the cavity where the tumor used to be. Then small radioactive beads are placed inside the balloon, treating the surrounding cells from the inside out. Side effects are fewer and less pronounced, treatment time arrives sooner and is shorter in duration. The official website is here, with more information than I could ever conceivably explain.

Of course, the lumpectomy and lymph test has to come back clean (we'll know sometime next week), but having this new-ish but very very successful new technology at her fingertips is something mom is excited about--and so are we.

Finally, a word about the blog. Thank you to all who have left posts: old friends, family, friends we see every day, friends we haven't seen in years, people we've never seen at all. It's all so appreciated, and no doubt has helped fuel the successes we've had already. Also, feel free to start leaving comments on this post--no need to scroll all the way to the bottom unless we're going for some kind of record (which is fine by me).

ML