Lung cancer is the number one cause of cancer deaths in the U.S., taking more lives per year than breast, prostate, and colon cancers combined. In light of November being lung cancer awareness month, people are encouraged to schedule lung cancer screenings, particularly those individuals with a history of smoking.

At a lung cancer awareness education and screening session Thursday afternoon, Freeman Pulmonologist Dr. Grant Pierson was doing all he could to meet, greet, and educate Freeman West visitors about the dangers of lung cancer, encouraging some to sign up for early detection lung screenings.

The reason for the open house, and for Dr. Pierson’s staff to push for screenings, involves the high lung cancer rates found in the Joplin metro area.

“Lung cancer is extremely prevalent here,” Dr. Pierson said. “We have a [history of lead and zinc mining], a high amount of radon in our area, and we have a high smoking population. All of these factors increase cancer risks. That’s why we are out here today, bringing awareness about the dangers from lung cancer.”

Lung screenings are recommended for individuals aged 50 to 80 years who have a 20 pack-year smoking history and are currently smoking or have quit in the past 15 years, Dr. Pierson said. If lung cancer is caught before it can spread to other parts of the body, according to the American Lung Association, likelihood of an individual surviving five years or more improves to 65 percent.

Aside from speaking to Dr. Pierson and his staff, visitors were able to see firsthand the futuristic-looking MONARCH^® robotic bronchoscopy platform. It’s a unique technology that allows Dr. Pierson the ability to detect and diagnose lung cancer in its early stages. It combines traditional camera views with computer-assisted navigation.

Thanks to MONARCH, Dr. Pierson uses the machine’s advanced tools to biopsy tiny modules in hard-to-reach areas of the lungs with greater accuracy than traditional methods.

“We’re proving we can shift lung cancer diagnosis back from a late stage to early stage,” he said.

Freeman is the first hospital in the immediate area to invest in and utilize MONARCH. Since 2022, Dr. Pierson and other Freeman physicians have performed 750-plus MONARCH procedures in Joplin. 

“The earlier we can diagnose lung cancer, the easier it is to treat,” he continued, “which means [people] can live longer.”

For more information about MONARCH or pulmonology services at Freeman or to schedule a lung cancer screening appointment, please call Freeman Lung Institute at 417.347.8315 or visit freemanhealth.com/lung.