Low Dose CT Lung Screening can find cancer early and save your life!
This year, nearly 250,000 Americans will be diagnosed with lung cancer; the leading cause of cancer death in the United States. Smoking cigarettes is the number one contributor to lung cancer. The good news is Low Dose CT (LDCT) Lung Screening has the potential to save thousands of lives.
Through Shared Decision Making, your medical provider will help determine if you are a candidate for Low Dose CT (LDCT) Lung Screening; an x-ray used to screen for lung cancer. LDCT Lung Screening creates a 3D images of the inside of your chest. LDCT Lung Screening provides more details than a chest X-ray and may lower the risk of death by as much as 20%. The goal of LDCT Lung Screening is to detect lung cancer earlier.
Without proactive screening and diagnosis, medical providers don’t usually find lung cancers until symptoms have developed; when cancer is much harder to treat. LDCT Lung Screening scans are quick and painless. Once you are positioned on the CT table, the table will move slowly through the CT scanner as the images are obtained. You will be asked to hold your breath for the short 5-10 seconds while the scan is completed. There’s no prep, you can eat and drink as normal.
Recently, Medicare expanded eligibility for LDCT Lung Screening by lowering the age from 55 to 50 and the pack-year history from 30 pack-years to 20 pack-years. This change will allow more patients who are considered high risk for lung cancer to have access to this lifesaving screening exam.
LDCT Lung Screening is an annual exam for patients who are not having any lung problems such as a chronic cough, shortness of breath, repeat respiratory infections, hoarseness, or coughing up blood. Your medical provider may delay the LDCT Lung Screening exam if you currently have signs and symptoms of a respiratory infection or if recently recovering from an infection. If you have had lung cancer over the last 5 years, LDCT Lung Screening is not an appropriate screening exam. Smoking cessation lowers the risk of lung cancer and other serious health problems.
LDCT Lung Screenings are the best way to detect lung cancer earlier, when the survival rate is highest. Call your provider to see if Low Dose CT Lung Screening is right for you. To schedule your appointment with Midland Health Diagnostic Imaging Associates, call 432-221-2300 to schedule an appointment. A written order is required from your provider.