How do you explain the work being done at the Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center to a retired Air Force brigadier general? Charles Enke, M.D., explained it to Rep. Don Bacon this way: “From the military standpoint, this is the war on cancer.”
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From left, Charles Enke, M.D., chair of radiation oncology and U.S. Rep. Don Bacon. |
Bacon spent time Monday learning about cancer rates, screenings and treatment as Dr. Enke took him room to room in Nebraska Medicine’s radiation oncology department, showing him the latest cancer-fighting technology and explaining how the facility’s design caters to patient privacy and preferences.
Bacon studied images of tumors from test cases and asked a lot of questions. “Hardest time of their lives,” he said of the patients who come to the Buffett Cancer Center. “And you’re healing them.”
The congressman then toured the emergency department, listening as Michael Wadman, M.D., explained some of the challenges the ED staff faces, including patients with behavioral health issues or those who come in under the influence of meth or other drugs. The department is on pace to see 65,000 patients this year, a number Bacon called amazing.
“Hopefully none of us have to go to the Buffett Cancer Center or the Emergency Room,” Bacon said at the end of his tour. “But if you do, you’re going to get first class, great care right here.”