'We be-lung together,' says AtlantiCare team marking milestone procedure

For Immediate Release: August 30, 2022

AtlantiCare’s team has marked another milestone in caring for patients. Its Heart and Vascular Institute and Cancer Care Institute teams performed their 100^th robotic bronchoscopy August 24. Team members wore shirts touting “We be-lung together” under their scrubs, signifying their commitment to teamwork in diagnosing and treating lung cancer and other lung illnesses early.

AtlantiCare was the first hospital in New Jersey to use this technology to diagnose lung cancer and other lung issues at the earliest stages – when treatment is most effective. “Using this minimally-invasive technology has helped us seek, find and remove tiny lung nodules that in the past would have been too small to detect and/or hard to remove,” said Amit Borah, M.D., interventional pulmonologist, AltantiCare’s Lung Nodule Clinic and Heart and Vascular Institute. Borah is also chair, Critical Care at AtlantiCare.

According to the American Cancer Society, lung cancer is the second most common cancer in both men and women in the United States. “Symptoms can mimic other illnesses,” said Borah. “People often learn they have lung cancer after an x-ray or other scan for another health issue shows a nodule on their lung. Even those who have no known risk factors can develop lung cancer. It is vitally important that individuals tell their primary or specialty care provider if they have symptoms.”

“Symptoms can include a general feeling of not being well or of extreme fatigue,” explained Borah. “A new cough that doesn’t go away, shortness of breath, hoarseness, chest pain, headache, and bone pain are also possible signs of lung cancer.” Borah added unintended weight loss and coughing up blood are symptoms.”

For more information about AtlantiCare, call the AtlantiCare Access Center at 1-888-569-1000; visit www.atlanticare.org; or find AtlantiCare on Facebook.

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AtlantiCare is an integrated healthcare system based in Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey, whose more than 6,000 staff, providers and volunteers serve the community in more than 100 locations in Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May and Ocean counties of southern New Jersey. Its vision of building healthy communities together drives its mission of making a difference in health and healing, one person at a time, through caring and trusting relationships. A Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award winner, AtlantiCare was also included in Modern Healthcare’s Best Places to Work. AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center was the 105th hospital in the nation to attain the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Magnet™ designation in 2004 and earned redesignation in 2008, 2013, in 2018. Learn more at atlanticare.org or 1-888-569-1000.