CHI Memorial’s mobile lung CT coach will visit the following location in December:
Friday, Dec. 20, from 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. at the Homeless Health Care of Chattanooga, 730 E. 11th Street, Chattanooga, Tn. 37403.
Rob Headrick, M.D., thoracic surgeon, CHI Memorial Chest and Lung Cancer Center, will give an educational talk at 2 p.m. There is no charge to attend the talk and it is open to everyone.
Lung cancer screening is a test to look for signs of lung cancer in otherwise healthy people.
The low-dose CT scan shows a 3-D image of your lungs that is clearer and more detailed than regular x-rays, allowing doctors to diagnose lung cancer at its earliest stage, before there are any symptoms. This is when lung cancer is most curable. The whole process takes less than ten minutes and there is no need to do anything special to prepare for the screening.
The low-dose CT lung cancer scan has been shown to improve survival by 20 percent according to The National Lung Screening Trial (NLST) by the National Cancer Institute (NCI).
Factors that put you at high risk of developing lung cancer include:
· Age 50 or greater
· Smoking history
· Family history of cancer
· Exposure to cancer causing agents (asbestos, diesel fumes, Radon, coal smoke, soot, etc.)
Private insurance companies cover lung cancer screening for high-risk individuals. Medicare and Medicaid also cover lung cancer screening. Grant funds are available for eligible uninsured and under-insured people to have the low-dose lung CT screening.
If you feel you are at risk, call 423 495-LUNG (5864) to discuss if a lung screening is right for you, or to schedule an appointment.