CHRISTUS Mother Frances Hospital in Tyler is one of the first hospitals to have a new device that helps doctors detect lung cancer easier and sooner.
The device is called Monarch. It is controlled by a remote that allows doctors to navigate through a person’s body with a flexible robotic endoscope.
It has a camera to make it easy to view the inside of a person’s lungs. During the process, it collects a sample of tissue for biopsy. It is an efficient way to get into hard to reach places in the lungs, which help diagnose lung cancer sooner than before.
"The problem with lung cancer is that it can be a silent disease until late stage to an early stage," Dr. Suman Sinha, Chief of Pulmonary Medicine at the hospital said. "They're very minimal, or no symptoms at all.”
Symptoms of lung cancer could include:
- Coughing
- Bloody mucus
- Chest pain
- Shortness of breath
“I have a great deal of excitement in this movement and it's advancement in the field of lung cancer. So it really has breathed new life into this field,” Dr. Sinha said.
For more information about Monarch go to CHRISTUS Mother Frances Hospital.