Worth the 5-Hour Drive: Woman Cancer-Free After Advanced Lung Procedure at Silver Cross Hospital

During an annual physical exam in 2018, Paula Holcomb mentioned in passing that she hadn’t had a chest X-ray in a while. 

“My primary doctor sent me for one, and when it came back, it showed an abnormality,” said Holcomb, 67, formerly of Manhattan/New Lenox; now of McLeansboro in far southern Illinois since 2013. 

Her doctors there opted to watch the tiny growth for a few years, but when the time came in 2022 that they recommended advanced care, Holcomb sought the best treatment. And for her, that meant Silver Cross Hospital in New Lenox. 

She had recently read a story in a Joliet-area newspaper that Dr. Kristopher McDonough, board-certified pulmonologist, and thoracic surgeon, Dr. Gillian Alex, had performed a new technique using the Ion robotic-assisted bronchoscopy platform on a lung cancer patient with great success. 

“I knew that’s what I wanted,” she said. 

What is Ion?

Ion is a robotic-assisted bronchoscopy platform that uses a fully articulating, ultra-thin catheter to navigate airways, allowing the doctor to reach all 18 segments of the lungs with incredible accuracy. 

To do so, the Ion system uses shape-sensing technology that allows for extremely precise control in getting to a difficult-to-reach nodule. 

“Think of the lung as being like a tree, with smaller and smaller branches away from the trunk,” said Dr. McDonough. “In the past, we were able to reach only 20 to 30 percent of the lung with a bronchoscope. With Ion, we can reach more than 90 percent.” 

And without Ion, he added, they would have to perform an invasive surgery or higher risk needle biopsy to reach those areas. “This might result in a collapsed lung that would require a second procedure to fix.” 

With Ion, the flexible robotic catheter can reach the nodule with a needle or other instrument and take a biopsy. This is reviewed in real-time in the operating room by a cytology technician and pathologist working closely with the team.  

One of the more amazing parts of the Ion procedure, Dr. McDonough said, it that it can precisely return to the spot where the biopsy sample was taken. 

Early diagnosis is key for any type of cancer, including lung cancer, Dr. McDonough said. 

“It’s really important to find people early and try to identify them during a time when we can cure them of their disease and not just treat them.” 

“The Ion has closed the doors for complications, but opened the doors for diagnosis,” he added. 

Right Choice, Great Outcome

Once he learned hospitals in St. Louis, much closer to Holcomb, didn’t offer the Ion procedure, Dr. McDonough and his team moved quickly to get her diagnosed. In the fall of 2022, she and her husband Dale drove five hours north to Silver Cross in New Lenox for the Ion procedure. 

“To me, going to Silver Cross Hospital, which I knew and trusted, was well worth the trip,” she said. 

The biopsy came back as cancer. Holcomb said she was scared, “but I knew I was going to be OK.” 

A month after her Ion procedure, they drove back up to Silver Cross to have the tumor removed by thoracic surgeon, Dr. Justin Karush. Holcomb said the surgery went smoothly, and credits Dr. Karush and the entire Silver Cross team. 

“I remember there was supposed to be a big snowstorm in the area the day after my surgery,” she said. “Dr. Karush and everyone worked hard to make sure I was released in time to get on the road before the snow started.” 

There is a high percentage of lung cancer in Will County, said Dr. Alex, “So, having a comprehensive lung cancer program, we can bring something that is truly needed in this area.” 

Dr. McDonough said Holcomb’s story is one of success, like many of the more than 200 Ion procedures performed at Silver Cross so far. 

Holcomb’s cancer was identified, removed with clear margins, he said, and in a few days, she was driving back to her home in southern Illinois, “with a plan to live the rest of her life cancer-free.” 

Holcomb knows she made the right choice in trusting Silver Cross Hospital. 

“As of right now, I am cancer free. I owe it to the expertise of the doctors I had a Silver Cross for how I feel today.” 

For more information about lung care and treatment at Silver Cross, visit the Midwest Institute for Lung at Silver Cross Hospital at www.silvercross.org/lung-care/