CT Scans for High Risk Lung Cancer Persons: Early Detection Saves Lives!

As diagnostic radiologists, we have the unique capacity to help ensure best possible health for our patients, not via administering strong medicine to the sick, but with early detection of a disease, before one has symptoms. We say this all the time, because we experience this in our own practice all the time:  early detection saves lives.

 

We are excited to note that as of yesterday, the US Preventative Services Task Force (USPSTF) has made a draft recommendation for screening for lung cancer in high-risk patients. CT scans for this group of people can be  life-saving tool.

 

There have been decades of research dedicated to determining the best way to detect lung cancer and detection at a stage that is most treatable. Lung cancer is the #1 cause of cancer death in the US and causes more deaths than breast, prostate and colon cancer combined. Lung cancer is often caught late; with only a one-in-ten chance of survival. Patients detected early, before symptoms arise, may have a greater chance of a cure.

 

The USPSTF has researched methods of early detection and concluded that low-dose CT scans for certain portions of the population can be beneficial in terms of lung cancer. So, smokers and former smokers alike, listen to this please:

 

 

Together, we can help save lives. Please share this valuable information with those you care about. (And please care about yourself enough to stop smoking; there are resources available for that as well.) Please talk to your medical care provider to see if you are a candidate for CT lung screening. We’ll be cheering you on for your best possible health the whole way!

 

 

 

 

Originally published 7/30/13 on diagnosticimagingcenterskc.com.