LUNG SCREENING ACTIVITY Program
Renown Regional Medical Center was named a Screening Center of Excellence by The Lung Cancer Alliance ( LCA ) in early 2016 for its ongoing commitment to best practice lung cancer screening . The program required a provider referral to the lung screening clinic . All of the referred patients are prescreened for the program using evidenced-based criteria from the National Lung Screening trials and outlined by the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services . Criteria guidelines include individuals who are aged 55 to 80 years and have : 1 ) no symptoms of lung cancer , 2 ) a 30 pack-a-year smoking history , and 3 ) currently smoke or have quit within the past 15 years . Each patient that meets these screening guidelines will then meet with an Advanced Practice Nurse for a “ shared decision making visit .” Once the patient consents to the screening , they are scheduled for a Low-Dose Computed Tomography ( LDCT ), which has been proven to find lung cancer at its earliest stages . It is the first and only cost-effective test shown to reduce lung cancer deaths .
Since March 1 , 2016 the Institute for Cancer has screened over 200 individuals , referred from primary and specialty care providers . Of those participants who completed their LDCT , two early stage ( stage 1 ) cancers have been diagnosed . Why is this important ? Because lung cancer is the number one cancer killer in America , taking more American lives than colon , breast and prostate cancer combined . This early lung cancer detection can and will increase the five-year survival rate to nearly 90 percent . Renown Institute for Cancer , as the healthcare leader in the region , strives for the highest patient care standards from cancer prevention and screening through treatment and survivorship . This program is one example of our commitment to the health of the communities we serve .
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