If you’ve never had a low does CT scan before, you might think it’s a complex procedure. After all, a low dose CT scan can detect lung cancer in its early stages and save your life – so it must be complicated, right?
Not so. In fact, it’s actually an incredibly simple and easy process that can make a huge impact for you and your loved ones.
“I always tell patients that it takes longer to park and walk into the hospital than it takes to actually perform the screening,” says Amy McClary, BSN, nurse navigator for the Lung Cancer Screening Program at Northern Light Cardiothoracic Surgery. “For patients, there’s no prep, no pain, no IVs, none of that. As long as you’re not wearing a ton of metal or have a lot of buttons, you might not even have to change your clothing. Generally speaking, you lay flat on the table, go into the donut-shaped scanner, and in two minutes you’re done.”
Unlike other screenings such as a mammogram, lung cancer screening has more criteria than just age. All Lung Cancer Screening Program patients must meet criteria to qualify, including:
- You are between 50 and 80 years old.
- You smoke or quit in the past 15 years.
- You have not taken antibiotics in the past 12 weeks to treat a lung infection.
- Your average ‘pack year’ is 20 or greater. That’s the number of packs smoked per day multiplied by the number of years you’ve smoked. Check your pack year here.
The Northern Light Health team understands just how scary the words “lung cancer” can be for many Mainers who fit those criteria. However, McClary says that early diagnosis is key to saving lives. She reports roughly 80% of the scans the team performs are normal. The other 20% are not necessarily diagnosed with lung cancer, but just need follow-up imaging to determine what it is they are seeing or have found. After all, 50% of people over the age of 50 have lung nodules of some type, and 95% of those lung nodules are benign.
The scan also has the added benefit of not simply looking at your lungs, but at your entire chest cavity. “We might pick up on something with your kidneys or your liver because you had this scan,” says McClary. “We can also find a lot of other issues like esophageal cancers, masses on other parts of the body, undetected issues with your coronary artery that may require a visit with a cardiologist or cardiac procedure.”
Eligible patients who take part in lung cancer screenings see a greater than 20% reduction in overall mortality. The Lung Cancer Screening Program isn’t a one-time scan, however. If your exam comes back normal, then you return annually until you no longer meet the requirements. If the team does find something you may need to see a specialist or have more imaging of your chest.
“Any time we do a cancer screening, we understand that patients are feeling some anxiety around that,” says McClary. “We work with the patient to ease that anxiety and make sure they feel comfortable and that they know they’re in good hands. To learn more about screening at Northern Light locations around Maine call 207.973.5822 or visit, https://northernlighthealth.org/EMMCLCS.