Freeman continues fight against lung cancer

Freeman Pulmonologist Dr. Grant Pierson performed the 400th MONARCH® procedure, an innovative machine that continues to push the boundaries in the fight against lung cancer.

Used to view the inside of the lungs and obtain a tissue sample for biopsy, the goal of Auris Health’s MONARCH® platform enables physicians to reach tiny, hard-to-reach peripheral lung nodules with greater precision than ever before – detecting lung cancers at the earliest possible stages. The machine does this by combining robotics, micro-instrumentation and small cameras and tools into a single, integrated system that in some ways resembles a video game system, complete with controllers and monitors.

Freeman is the first and only health system in Missouri, Southeast Kansas and Northeast Oklahoma to offer the MONARCH® program to its patients.

“We are excited about the promise of this technology to offer a more hopeful future for our patients with lung cancer,” said Dr. Pierson, Freeman pulmonologist. “I foresee being able to biopsy a nodule for diagnosis and then initiate treatment even before a patient walks out the door.”

More than 90 percent of people diagnosed with lung cancer do not survive the disease, in part because it is often found at an advanced age. However, if diagnosed and treated early, survival rates increase dramatically.