Part 1: Lung Cancer Awareness:

Part 2: Monarch Robotic Bronchoscopy

JOPLIN, Mo. – Dr. Grant Pierson of the Freeman Lung Institute talked with Michael Hayslip about a new tool in the fight against lung cancer. It’s called Monarch Robotic Bronchoscopy.

The Monarch program is designed to allow physicians access to small, hard-to-reach peripheral lung nodules, with greater precision than ever before. Officials say that can result in earlier diagnosis and improved treatment of lung cancer. It uses robotics and a novel telescoping design, enabling it to reach deeper into the lung than conventional methods. A pulmonologist uses a controller to guide the bronchoscope into the lungs while constantly maintaining a full visual from an integrated camera throughout the procedure.

Lung cancer is the number one cancer killer, claiming more victims each year than breast, colon and prostate cancers combined. Every 3.3 minutes someone in the United States dies of lung cancer. In 2020, there were an estimated 228,820 new diagnoses of lung cancer in the U.S. alone.