Why you need to know about Lung Cancer Screening?
Lung cancer is the No. 1 cause of cancer deaths in the United States.
Approximately 80-90% of those deaths are caused by cigarette smoking.*
Patients who choose lung cancer screening are likely to be diagnosed at earlier stages than those who don’t get screened.
Lung cancer is too often caught late and more difficult to treat when diagnosed at late stages.
In NY State, only 26.1% of lung cancer cases are diagnosed at an early stage.
White Americans at 27.1%, Black Americans at 21.4%, Latino at 22.9%, Asian American at 26.4%, Indigenous Peoples at 20.3% were screened.
In 2020, only 5.7% of high-risk groups for lung cancer were screened in NY State.
The percent of cases receiving no treatment in NY State is 15.6% of White Americans, 18.1% among Black Americans, 16.1% among Latinos, 12% among Asian Americans and 17.1% among Indigenous Peoples.
All taken from State of Lung Cancer Report
In 2019, Erie County reported 542 lung cancer cases. NY State reported 11,465 in total.
In 2019 NY state reported over 5.5 million ever-smokers. Taken from State of the Air Report
To find lung cancer early, when it when it is easier to treat, your doctor may talk to you about a screening called a low-dose CT (LDCT) for lung cancer. Screening with LDCT will not find all lung cancers, and not all of the cancers that are found will be found early. Talk to your doctor about whether lung cancer screening is beneficial for you based on your own individualized risk. A low-dose CT for lung cancer is a more detailed, painless CT scan of your chest that uses radiation at a low dose. It can show lung cancer at early stages that may be hard to see on an X-ray. It does not use any dyes or injections. It requires nothing to swallow by mouth. Once the scan has started, it takes approximately 10 minutes to complete.
*Percentage of Deaths Cause By Cigarette Smoking, Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC)
Why It’s Important to Choose a Lung Cancer Screening Center
Windsong Radiology was the first in the Buffalo area to be named a Lung Cancer Screening Center by the American College of Radiology (ACR). This means we proudly perform high quality lung cancer screenings in Buffalo and Western New York, helping patients from across the region find cancer early. We also have other resources available such as program to help you quit smoking. See below to learn more.
Am I Eligible?
You are eligible for a lung cancer screening if you are between the ages of 50-80 in fairly good health (50-77 for Medicare- at writing still under review) AND:
- Currently smoke or have quit within the last 15 years AND
- Have at least a 20 pack-year smoking history
- To calculate your pack-year history, multiply the number of years you smoked by the number of packs of cigarettes per day
Update as of March 9th, 2021: The United States Preventive Services Task Force has issued an updated, final recommendation for CT lung cancer screening that lowers the starting age from 55 to 50 and adjusts smoking history from 30 pack-years to 20 pack-years.
Testimonial
Sylvia M.
I have been going to Windsong Spindrift for all my imaging needs for 13 yrs.
In January 2016 I attended their smoking cessation program. I believe they saved my life. This program was very informative, supportive and actually fun. I was informed that most insurances pay for a yearly low dose chest CT and nicotine replacement products.
My chest CT revealed several nodes which are benign at this time. That was incentive enough for me to quit smoking. I am enjoying living in a nice smelling home, car and my clothes smell good too.
I encourage all smokers to attend this program and see if you can quit, it could save your life too.
