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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