$99 lung cancer screenings - Ohio

[CindyA]

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Lake Health is the latest local hospital system to offer low dose computed tomography as part of a lung cancer screening program for people at high risk of developing the disease.

The screening, which includes three scans over a two-year period, is being offered at both West Medical Center in Willoughby and TriPoint Medical Center in Concord Twp. for $99.

The screening is geared toward longtime current or former smokers. They must be 55-74 years old who has been a two-pack-per-day smoker for 15 years or a one-pack-per-day smoker for 30 years, or be a former smoker who has quit within the past 15 years.

Those requirements mirror the patient population in the National Cancer Institute's National Lung Screening Trial, which compared low-dose CT and standard chest X-ray in current smokers and former smokers.

In the two years since the New England Journal of Medicine published an article that touted the of low-dose computer tomography as a lung cancer screening tool, the number of hospitals in Ohio and across the country have begun offering the diagnostic test. University Hospitals Case Medical Center was the first to offer the low-cost scans in June 2011.

All patients must have a physician's referral before scheduling a screening appointment, which is preceded by a meeting with a patient navigator that includes information on smoking cessation.

For information call the Best of Health Line at 800-454-9800. To schedule a lung cancer screening with CT scanning, call Lake Health’s Centralized Scheduling at 866-652-5253. A physician’s referral is required.

For more information, here is the link

http://www.cleveland.com/healthfit/inde ... ung_c.html