Robotic innovation helps Paducah patient overcome lung cancer

Joyce Manis has faced her share of health challenges. She lives with COPD, and in 2018, she had a 10-pound tumor removed, which thankfully turned out to be benign. In 2020, during a bout of COVID pneumonia, her physician’s assistant at Baptist Health Paducah discovered a spot on her lung that needed careful monitoring over several years. 

“Eventually, she said we need a biopsy,” Joyce recalled. 

What the 79-year-old didn’t realize at the time was that she would benefit from some of the most advanced cancer-fighting technology available, made possible through the generosity of donors. 

To diagnose her cancer, doctors used Ion robotic bronchoscopy, a minimally invasive tool that guides a flexible catheter deep into the lungs. This technology makes it possible to biopsy small or hard-to-reach nodules with greater accuracy than traditional methods. 

Then, in March 2024, Joyce underwent surgery with cardiothoracic surgeon Austin Ward, MD, who performed a Da Vinci robotic procedure. Dr. Ward guided the robotic arms from his console, aided by the donor-funded fluoroscopic C-arm. This mobile imaging system provides real-time, high-resolution 3-D X-rays during surgery, giving surgeons a clear view inside the body as they work. 

“It’s the best thing,” Joyce said. “I think I had six holes. That robot went in and took the cancer out and took the whole bottom lobe of my right lung off. Then they sealed it with staples. The robot did it all, but Dr. Ward was guiding it.” 

It may sound high-tech – and it is – but it’s not out of reach. This innovative approach represents the future of lung cancer care, available today at Baptist Health Paducah, bringing patients like Joyce greater safety and hope. 

“I give God the credit,” Joyce said. “He was the one that healed me. He directed them, as I believe it, and I’m cancer free.” 

When she first learned her surgery would be robotic, Joyce admits she was apprehensive. 

“I won’t say I was scared, because I haven't been scared. I just pray to God for His will,” she explained. “But I was concerned. Is this going to go right? I had never heard of it before. But it's great. The healing, everything about it.” 

For Joyce, the people of Baptist Health are just as important as the technology. 

“From the janitor up, everybody is very concerned about you,” she said. “It's just like a great big family. It truly is. That’s how I feel about Baptist Health. They listen, you know, they truly do.” 

She also remembers how Dr. Ward went the extra mile. 

“He even called afterwards when I got home to see how I was doing,” Joyce recalled. “Doctors don’t do that. It’s just unbelievable.” 

Joyce is grateful for the donors who make advanced treatments like robotic surgeries possible and hopes to see these investments continue. 

“Just keep growing, keep updating the technology,” she said. “Who in the world has ever heard of this? I didn’t.” 

With multiple pacemakers, a history of cancer, and now a successful lung surgery behind her, Joyce says there’s only one place she trusts with her care. 

“This is the only hospital I want to go to,” she said. “When they say Baptist, it doesn’t worry me, and I mean that with all my heart.”