Carolyn O’Quinn is learning to be a writer.

She already knows how to be a survivor.

“I had the faith to wait,” O’Quinn said.

Thoughts of her daughter and grandchildren along with her strong beliefs guided O’Quinn away from standard breast cancer treatment.

“When someone tells you that you need a mastectomy, that’s serious surgery,” she said.

She opted for a lumpectomy and MammoSite technology.

Animation provided by Cytotec, the maker of MammoSite, shows how MammoSite is inserted into the area where the tumor has been removed.

Radiation is then delivered directly to the affected tissue. Treatments are twice a day for five days.

“You’re just radiating the part of the breast at highest risk for the cancer to come back, so you spare the majority of the normal tissue that doesn’t need radiation,” Dr. Arlene Ricardo said.

New five-year data show the cancer recurrence rate in MammoSite patients is less than 1 percent -- about the same result as with total breast radiation.

A treatment that is given every day for six weeks.

“The risk of the patient to develop another cancer is the same, so why would you want to radiate healthy tissue if its not going to give you any specific advantage?” Dr. Ricardo said.

The procedure is FDA-approved for women who are 45 or older, have early stage breast cancer and no lymph node involvement.

“I definitely feel very, very blessed,” O’Quinn said.

Two years after her diagnosis, O’Quinn is still cancer-free.