A new, minimally invasive diagnostic option allows lung cancer patients at CHRISTUS Santa Rosa New Braunfels to skip painful CT-guided biopsies.
Ion Robotic Navigational Bronchoscopy replaces needles with a thin, robotic catheter guided through a patient’s airway to reach and biopsy small spots deep within the lung without the need for larger incisions.
“I had a previous cancer in my lower left lung and went through a biopsy that was the most horrific thing I’ve ever experienced,” said 78-year-old Seguin resident Sherelene Frazier, whose lung cancer recurred earlier this year. “I told myself I would never go through that long needle again.”
Pulmonologist Dr. Rajesh Shetty, who pioneered the technology at Christus, convinced her to give the robotic bronchoscopy a chance.
He said the innovation transforms how physicians care for patients close to home.
“This technology allows us to reach areas of the lung that were once nearly impossible to access safely,” he said in a statement. “By diagnosing cancer earlier and with far less risk or discomfort, we’re helping our patients maintain both their health and their dignity. Seeing stories like Ms. Frazier’s reminds us exactly why this work matters.”
Frazier, who was sedated, said she was amazed by the procedure.
“My lung didn’t collapse, I wasn’t sick afterward. It was such a relief over my whole being. I even felt better. I said, ‘Maybe I’m supposed to be here after all, maybe I still have a purpose.”
Frazier now faces a short series of radiation treatments.
She encourages others to get screened and ask about new options.
“I would go out there and shout it from the rooftops to anyone facing lung cancer to get their biopsy through this method,” she said. “It’ll save lives. It’ll give hope.”
Baptist Health System, which operates Resolute Baptist Hospital, also offers patients minimally invasive lung biopsies with the Ion robotic-assisted lung biopsy platform at its Northeast Baptist and North Central Baptist hospitals in San Antonio, spokesperson Natalie Gutierrez said.