Clinical Minutes Series
Michaela Straznicka, MD, discusses Lung Cancer Screening as implemented by US the Preventive Services Task Force - including insurance coverage and treatment options dependant on outcome.
[MUSIC PLAYING] SPEAKER 1: Lung cancer may have finally met its match. Over the years lung cancer has had historically poor survival rates. Mostly because, by the time we found lung cancer in patients, it was often times either locally advanced, or metastatic. Over the years, we have tried sputum Scientology's, chest X-rays, all of which have failed to catch lung cancer early enough to make a difference in most patients. Fortunately, lung cancer screening has now been officially adopted by the United States Preventative Task Force meeting, and therefore covered by Medicare, in the form of low dose non-contrast CT scans of the chest. When we think about the reasons that breast cancer, colon cancer, prostate cancer have such great survival rates, and cure rates, is because we can catch them early, before the patients have symptoms. By using a non-conscious CT scan of the chest, we can now find nodules small enough that, when we do identify them we can offer early stage curative treatments which, oftentimes, include a combination of surgery, radiation therapy or chemotherapy. John Muir Health is very excited to be an active participant in this program. It will allow our Medicare patients, and our commercial patients, to identify their lung cancers early. As a Thoracic surgeon, I'm very excited that lung cancer has finally met its match. By identifying these cases in the very earliest stage, will be able to cure patients at the same rate that breast cancer, colon cancer and prostate cancer have. Thank you for watching. [MUSIC PLAYING]
