SPOONER, WI- Spooner Health’s Diagnostic Imaging Department now offers low dose lung cancer screenings to qualified, high-risk patients.
A lung cancer screening is a regular preventative health check, like mammograms and colonoscopies. While 57% of lung cancers are diagnosed in the advanced stage when survival rates are lower, regular lung cancer screenings can find lung cancer at an earlier stage, when survival rates are better. The low dose lung cancer screening is designed to check healthy lungs and track any changes from year to year.
A low-dose lung cancer screening is the only method recommended for lung cancer screening in high-risk patients. A primary care doctor will be able to determine risk levels and whether a low-dose lung cancer screening is recommended. The screening is done through a CT scan, which takes a 3-D picture of the lungs. This type of scan will show more detail than a standard chest x-ray. Patients are exposed to a low dose of radiation during the scan; 75% less radiation than a regular CT scan. This screening does not require any needles and only takes a few minutes. Low dose lung cancer screenings are recommended by many groups including the American Lung Association and the American Cancer Society.
Jessica West, Radiologic Technologist RT (R) (CT) at Spooner Health says, “It’s an added service to the community that we are proud to be able to offer. Our patients no longer have to travel to different facilities for a screening that could save their lives.”
For more information on low-dose lung cancer screenings at Spooner Health, please visit www.SpoonerHealth.com/Imaging.
For more general information on low-dose lung cancer screenings, please visit www.TheLungCancerProject.org/Screening.
Last Update: Oct 15, 2019 11:20 am CDT
