April 24. Novant Health has a new lung cancer biopsy technology thanks to a generous gift from Agnes B. and Edward I. Weisiger Sr., and matching fundraising from the Novant Health Presbyterian Medical Center Foundation. The Ion robotic bronchoscopy technology allows for a minimally invasive biopsy of lung nodules that are often difficult to reach, ultimately improving time from diagnosis to treatment.

“Someone is diagnosed with lung cancer every two minutes in the U.S., and unfortunately, nearly half of those cases are late stage. We look to change that,” said Dr. David Rizzieri, system physician executive for the Novant Health Cancer Institute and the first Agnes B. and Edward I. Weisiger Endowed Chair. “Because of the Weisiger’s generosity, our expert physicians can now perform minimally invasive lung biopsies, finding abnormal nodules sooner than ever, further enhancing Novant Health’s cancer screening and detection capabilities.”

The Weisigers also provided funds for an AI platform that will deploy later in 2024 and will help Novant Health clinicians across North Carolina better predict and diagnose lung cancer. The platform will serve as a second set of eyes for radiologists, analyzing radiology reports in real time.

Quotable

“Ed and I are deeply invested in advancing cancer care in our community, and we know that early detection is vitally important for cancer survivorship,” said Agnes Weisiger. “We are honored to have a role in making this technology available to the skilled clinicians at the Novant Health Cancer Institute. In their expert hands, this leading technology will not only make the journey from diagnosis to treatment easier for patients – it will ultimately save lives.”

Decreasing time to treatment

Studies show that every week of delay in starting treatment relates to 1.6 percent less chance of cure and survival in stage II non-small cell lung cancer and 3.2 percent less for stage I non-small cell lung cancer. To address this delay, as well as an equity gap in care, Novant Health organized a coordinated, integrated lung cancer program that includes a team of thoracic oncology surgeons, interventional pulmonologists, interventional radiologists, radiation oncologists, medical oncologists, nurse navigators and oncology pharmacists to examine patients’ diagnosis and treatment options from every angle.

Novant Health clinicians developed a multidisciplinary screening protocol to streamline the detection, diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer. As a result of the integrated effort, Novant Health patients are assessed and connected to treatment nearly three weeks faster than the national average.