New NorthBay Technology Helps NorCal Lung Patients
Suzette Fenton, 59, is a resident of Eureka, but advanced medicine at NorthBay Health brought her 275 miles to Fairfield for lung cancer imaging, to provide details needed to determine whether surgery was a possibility.
To her relief, it turns out that surgery is not only a possibility, but it’s in her future.
November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month. Each year, more than 200,000 people in the United States are diagnosed with lung cancer and more than 150,000 people die from this disease. Lung cancer is one of the most common cancers among men and women in the United States and is the leading cause of cancer death, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Suzette was first diagnosed with cancer in May.
“I had COVID, and it was clearing up but then I began coughing blood, so I went to my primary care doctor in Siskiyou County and he’s the one who ordered all of these tests and an MRI,” she explained.
The imaging found two masses on her lung — one larger than the other and the decision was made to biopsy using CT imaging guidance. The process involves having the patient lie in a CT Scanner and then inserting a needle directly into the mass in order to take a sample of it for testing.
The effort confirmed cancer, but it didn’t provide enough material for further genetic testing — a step needed to determine what stage the cancer was and whether it would be possible to remove it in surgery. In addition, the CT-guided process couldn’t reach the smaller spot on her lungs.
That’s where NorthBay Healthpulmonologist Karan Julka, M.D., and the Monarch robotic navigational bronchoscopy came in.
“My doctors referred me to NorthBay and Dr. Julka because nobody up here does that procedure and he was the closest,” Suzette explained. “I needed to have this done, so that’s what we did.”
The Monarch platform integrates the latest advancements in robotics, software, data science and endoscopy. It uses a familiar controller-like device that resembles a video game controller and allows Dr. Julka to navigate the flexible robotic endoscope into the periphery of the lung with improved reach, vision, and control.
“One of the limitations of CT-guided biopsy is that it involves putting a needle from the outside of the body to the inside and with the lungs, you are limited on how many times you can do that,” explained Dr. Julka. “With Monarch, we were able to biopsy her main mass and the smaller second mass.”
Enough tissue was obtained during the procedure so that genetic testing could be done and Dr. Julka noted that the Monarch also allowed him and his team to do endobronchial ultrasound of her lymph nodes during the process. That allowed him to confirm that her lymph nodes were not involved in the cancer. If they had been, she wouldn’t be a candidate for surgery.
“So we were able to confirm that both masses were cancerous and because her lymph nodes were not involved, we were able to stage her cancer and determine that she would be eligible for surgery,” said Dr. Julka, adding that her case is “exactly what the Monarch system was designed for.”
Indeed, Suzette says her treatment plan will include surgery, though she will complete chemotherapy to shrink the masses first.
She has nothing but positive words for Dr. Julka and the Monarch system.
“Dr. Julka was wonderful. He gets nothing but thumbs up,” she said. “He explained it all to me before we did it and that was really good.”
The procedure was easy, she added with a laugh, because “I was asleep! I had a little bit of a sore throat after, but that’s it.”
Dr. Julka is happy to offer the procedure not only to NorthBay Health’s at-risk patients, but those from other health care systems, too. He is reaching out to physicians across the region to share his availability to help with diagnosis, genetic testing and staging service using Monarch.
Are You at Risk for Lung Cancer?
These conditions may make you a higher risk, according to the Mayo Clinic:
- Smoking. Your risk of lung cancer increases with the number of cigarettes you smoke each day and the number of years you have smoked. Quitting at any age can significantly lower your risk of developing lung cancer.
- Exposure to secondhand smoke. Even if you don't smoke, your risk of lung cancer increases if you're exposed to secondhand smoke.
- Previous radiation therapy. If you've undergone radiation therapy to the chest for another type of cancer, you may have an increased risk of developing lung cancer.
- Exposure to radon gas. Radon is produced by the natural breakdown of uranium in soil, rock and water that eventually becomes part of the air you breathe. Unsafe levels of radon can accumulate in any building, including homes.
- Exposure to asbestos and other carcinogens. Workplace exposure to asbestos and other substances known to cause cancer — such as arsenic, chromium and nickel — can increase your risk of developing lung cancer, especially if you're a smoker.
- Family history of lung cancer. People with a parent, sibling or child with lung cancer have an increased risk of the disease.
Discuss your risk factors with your primary care physician. Visit our lung cancer diagnosis and treatment page for more information about the Monarch platform.
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