FOR YOUR HEALTH: Lung cancer screening saves lives

Submitted by MaineGeneral
Medical Center

November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month. Though lung cancer remains the deadliest cancer in Maine and the U.S., catching lung cancer early increases the chance of survival by 20 percent.
MaineGeneral offers low-dose CT (LDCT) screening, an important tool that can save your life.

Patients urge others to get scanned

Millard Jackson, of Augusta, got screened at the urging of his family – and is glad he did. “The screening is a real piece of cake,” Jackson said. “You’ve got to find out what’s wrong with your car to fix it, right? The same is true for yourself!”

A screening and biopsy found Jackson had two different types of cancer in the same lung. He had surgery performed by Dr. Seth Blank, thoracic surgeon at MaineGeneral, to remove his lower lobe. Now, he’s cancer-free.

“I’m back to work, happy, feel good… healthy!”

Sharon Mercier, of Sidney, was urged to have a screening by her primary care doctor. “I didn’t expect them to find anything,” she said. “I had no symptoms, no shortness of breath, no weakness. My results came back and I had a mass in my left lung.” Mercier also had surgery and is recovering well. She urges others to think about getting a LDCT scan.

“The scan is very easy. It’s not scary or intimidating,” she said. “It’s really a regular test. I knew my results within four days, and they moved right on it. I can’t stress enough for people to get theirs early. I just thank God every day that they caught mine in time – and they wouldn’t have if not for that CT scan.”

What is a low-dose CT scan?

A low-dose CT scan is a type of X-ray that looks for early-stage lung cancer. The scan does not hurt and takes less than five minutes to complete.

Talk to your doctor about getting screened if you:

• Are 50 to 80 years old;
• Are a current or former smoker;
• Have quit smoking within the last 15 years;
• Have smoked one pack per day for 20 years or two packs per day for 10 years.

If a scan finds cancer

At MaineGeneral, you have access to a complete set of services for state-of-the-art care, including screening, diagnostic testing and treatment with specialists in thoracic surgery, medical and radiation oncology and interventional pulmonology.

Currently, MaineGeneral is the only medical center in Maine with robotic broncoscopy, performed by MaineGeneral Pulmonary, which maps a lesion and can access otherwise hard-to-reach lesions in the lung.

“We do flexible bronchoscopy, endobronchial ultrasound and robotic bronchoscopy at the same time,” said Dr. Ranganath, of MaineGeneral Pulmonary. “We get the diagnosis and the staging made at the same time. So, when that patient goes to a surgeon or oncologist, they already know the diagnosis and the staging.”

All this care is available right here in the Kennebec Valley. There is no need to travel to get a screening and, if needed, treatment.

Learn more

Visit our webpage devoted to lung health information:

• Hear from MaineGeneral patients who got low-dose CT screening;
• Watch a video about the screening;
• Hear about cancer prevention;
• Learn about other lung cancer risks such as radon and arsenic;
• View videos by some of our caring doctors and support staff and submit questions for our doctors to answer.

Go to www.mainegeneral.org/lung.