Lung Cancer Screening Program comes to Mon General to help reduce cancer-related deaths

As lung cancer continues to be the number one cause of cancer related deaths in the United States, The Zelda Stein Weiss Cancer Center of Mon General Hospital is offering a new lowcost screening program to help patients who are at risk for lung cancer.

The Lung Cancer Screening Program is a new approach to diagnose and treat the disease in its early stages by using a low-dose CT scan of the patient’s lungs. With early detection, eighty-five percent of lung cancers can be found in the earliest, most curable stages.

According to the National Cancer Institute, there were twenty percent fewer lung cancer related deaths among patients who were screened with low-dose CT scans.

Eligibility / Screening Criteria

Patients can qualify for the program through either one of two sets of criteria.  These are based on guidelines from the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN):

1. First set of criteria:
   1. Age 55-74 years, and
   2. ≥ 30 "pack year" history of smoking*, and
   3. If ex-smoker, quit within the last 15 years
      OR
2. Second set of criteria:
   1. Age 50-74 years, and
   2. ≥ 20 "pack year" history of smoking*, and
   3. If ex-smoker, quit within the last 15 years, and
   4. One of these additional risk factors:           
      1. Diagnosis of COPD or pulmonary fibrosis
      2. Radon exposure
      3. Occupational exposures:
         1. Asbestos
         2. Silica
         3. Cadmium
         4. Arsenic
         5. Beryllium
         6. Chromium
         7. Diesel Fumes
         8. Nickel
      4. Personal history of cancer
      5. Family history of cancer

*A 30 pack year history could be: 1 pack a day for 30 years, or 2 packs a day for 15 years, or 1.5 pack a day for 20 years.
**A 20 pack year history could be 1 pack a day for 20 years, or 2 packs a day for 10 years

If your patient meets one of these two sets of eligibility requirements, either you or the patient may call the program’s Nurse Navigator for the referral.

The initial cost of the program is $95 and includes a low-dose CT scan, a one-on-one follow up with the program’s Nurse Navigator and a smoking cessation program.

To learn more about the Zelda Stein Weiss Cancer Center of Mon General Hospital Lung Cancer Screening Program, call the program's Nurse Navigator:
Heather Colebank, RN, at 304-285-3500.