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The case for CT screening for lung cancerNew techniques may improve lung cancer cure rateLung cancer causes more deaths in the U.S. than the next 3 cancers combined (breast, prostate and colon). The cure rate for lung cancer is discouragingly low because patients who are diagnosed frequently have waited until symptoms began to appear. That is changing. Value of early detection of lung cancerPatients in the early stage of lung cancer are almost always without symptoms. But if you have any of the following risk factors, you could have early stage lung cancer and not know it:
As the lung malignancy grows, symptoms can develop and these might include any combination of the following:
If you have any of those symptoms, or if you are concerned about your risk factors, you should talk to your doctor about getting screened. 64-slice CT scanning for early lung cancer detectionAurora Medical Center in Oshkosh is one of only a few Wisconsin hospitals to offer advanced cancer diagnosis through 64-slice CT technology. This powerful imaging technology creates hundreds of cross-sectional pictures to enable physicians to view abnormalities in the chest and possibly detect early stages of lung cancer. Ideal candidates for this painless screening are men and women ages 50-80 who smoke or have a significant history of smoking -- even those who may have quit more than 20 years ago. If you are interested in finding out more about CT screening for lung cancer, or if you would like to determine if you are an appropriate candidate, please contact your primary care physician. Click here If you need to find a doctor. Treatments for lung cancerThere are generally 2 kinds of lung cancer. Small cell (oat cell) pulmonary malignancy makes up about 20% of all cases and is almost always treated medically, with either IV chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy. Non-small cell lung cancer is found in 80% of patients and the optimal treatment for them is surgery (if possible). Doctors universally agree that an operation designed to remove the lung malignancy is the only technique which may cure this otherwise deadly disease, with other forms of treatment, such as chemotherapy or radiation, usually being reserved only to ease symptoms. Early diagnosis via chest X-ray and/or CT scan of the chest, followed usually by definitive tissue biopsy, is key. Chest films done by an X-ray are not terribly exact or precise, and not always specific regarding lung abnormalities (especially small nodules). CT scans, however, have become very accurate in the diagnosis of pulmonary lesions as small as 5 millimeters in size. The most recent techniques of scanning allow for multiple images to be made through the body in rapid fashion and in 3 different projections. This permits a precise determination of the shape and consistency of any lung nodule defined by the study. If doctors can begin to diagnose lung cancer at an earlier stage and if these same patients present for surgery in a more timely fashion, then the 5-year survival rate and ultimately the cure rate for this disease should substantially improve. For those patients who have been actively smoking for a number of years and for former smokers who have stopped within the past 20-25 years, CT lung scanning to investigate for nodules (possible early malignancy) may well prove beneficial, even life-saving. Also, individuals with previous documented prolonged exposure to asbestos or radon gas, or with prior personal history of either lung cancer or any other malignancy directly related to smoking, can be screened in exactly the same manner.
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