Take the First Step in Checking for Lung Cancer by Getting Screened

By Kimyatta Washington, Assistant Vice President at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in America, claiming nearly 160,000 lives each year. Affecting both men and women, lung cancer is more deadly than colorectal, breast, pancreatic and prostate cancers combined. According to the National Cancer Institute, smoking is the biggest risk factor for developing lung cancer. For those interested in quitting smoking, help is available through the Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey Tobacco Dependence Program by calling (732) 235-8222 or visiting http://www.tobaccoprogram.org/ and through the Tobacco Quitcenter at the Steeplechase Cancer Center by calling (908) 685-2442.

While the best way to reduce your risk of lung cancer is to avoid smoking as well as breathing in smoke produced by others, there are other factors that can cause lung cancer, such as exposure to radon and cancer-causing chemicals. To prevent radon exposure, contact a local professional to have your home tested and treated if necessary. Additionally, keep contact with known cancer-causing chemicals to a minimum, whether in the workplace or elsewhere. Ensure that you are following proper safety procedures, such as wearing a respirator, if applicable.

Taking proactive measures in detection can also greatly reduce the risk of disease development or progression. Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH) New Brunswick and Somerset now offers a Low-Dose Lung Cancer Screening Program, having merged their lung screening programs to make it easier and more convenient for patients to be screened and treated at the facility closest to them. Screenings are now covered by Medicare and most insurances. The program is designed for high-risk individuals with a history of frequent, long-term smoking who are above the age of 55. The Low-Dose Lung Cancer Screening Program uses low-dose CT technology, allowing technicians to obtain high-quality images and provide timelier diagnoses with reduced exposure to radiation.

High-risk individuals qualified for a screening include:

· Individuals covered by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) age 55 to 77. For those insured by Commercial Payors, pre-authorization is required and they must be age 55 to 80. Those insured by Aetna must be age 55 to 79.

· Individuals must have a tobacco smoking history of at least 30 pack years. Pack years are calculated by multiplying the number of packs smoked per day by the number of years smoked.

· Qualifying individuals must be a current smoker or former smoker who has quit within the last 15-years.

· Individuals must have no current signs or symptoms of lung cancer, which includes coughing up blood, new shortness of breath, new or changing cough and/ or unexplained weight loss and no history of a chest CT scan within the past 12-months.

If an individual meets these criteria and is covered by Medicare, CMS requires that each patient have a Decision-Making Visit form filled out by a physician and a prescription for the low-dose lung CT before a low-dose lung CT can be performed. A decision-making visit can be done by the individual’s primary care physician or RWJUH’s nurse practitioner, who will be meeting with patients at both the New Brunswick and Somerset campuses. If an individual meets with RWJUH’s nurse practitioner, the CT scan will be scheduled for the same day.

Early detection of lung cancer can mean the difference between becoming a statistic, or becoming a survivor. Consider talking to your doctor about scheduling a screening at RWJUH New Brunswick or Somerset. For more information about the Low-Dose Lung Cancer Screening Program at RWJUH New Brunswick and Somerset, call 1-855-RWJ-LUNG or visit www.rwjuh.edu.