Pikeville Medical Center (PMC) is on the front lines of lung cancer, continually working to educate those at risk to be screened early and diagnosed sooner. Kentucky leads the nation in both lung cancer incidences and deaths, according to a recent report published by the American Cancer Society. The study pointed out an incidence rate of 80 per 100,000 and a death rate of 75 per 100,000, well above the national average of 55.
The Lawson Cancer Center is a recipient of the Commission on Cancer Outstanding Achievement Award. Their cancer center program employs a full and broad staff of board-certified medical, surgical and radiation cancer physicians. PMC’s Cancer Center is equipped to diagnose and treat even the most aggressive cancers.
The goal is to detect lung cancer at an early stage when the patient is showing no signs or symptoms. People at risk for lung cancer should get screened and early detection also gives them wider options for treatment and better chance for a good outcome. PMC offers low-dose CT scans, which are extremely effective at detecting early-stage lung cancers.
While a chest X-ray served as the previous method, this improved technology uses a low-dose of radiation to make a series of very detailed pictures of the lungs, scanning the body in a spiral path. This gives doctors an incredible amount of detail and allows them to see very small cancer growth.
Data shows that using low-dose CT is four times more likely to pick up a mass than a traditional chest X-ray, allowing for earlier detection and a better chance at survival.
“There are many different types of cancers that we know are related to smoking. Obviously, lung cancer is one of the major ones, and it has a high mortality rate. Other cancers that are related to smoking are head and neck, bladder, anal, esophageal and upper GI (gastro-intestinal) which we see a lot of in the eastern Kentucky region,” explained PMC Radiation Oncologist Brad Collett, MD. “This is probably related to early smoking history and heavy smoking in adult years.”
Smoking is the leading cause of all lung cancer, which contributes to roughly 85 percent of all lung cancer deaths. Approximately 29 percent of Kentuckians are smokers, compared to 21 percent nationally.
PMC offers a free smoking cessation program to the public to help people quit smoking, long term. Plan to be Tobacco Free is a program developed by The Kentucky Cancer Program that pairs education with nicotine replacement products to aid people in quitting smoking. To date, it has assisted thousands of Kentuckians in becoming tobacco free. PMC is proud to incorporate this strategy into its growing oncology outreach services.
“Please don’t start smoking,” urges Dr. Collett, “and if you can quit tobacco, your risk of developing some types of cancer goes down significantly over time.”
To find out more about PMC’s smoking cessation program, along with more about lung cancer screenings, call the Lawson Cancer Center at 606-218-2212.
