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L i v e Yo u n g e r L o n g e r
Teaming up
Ukiah Valley Medical Center has a new lung cancer-screening program with one important goal:
saving lives. “We want to find lung cancer earlier,” says Daniel Loube, MD, a pulmonary specialist with
Ukiah Valley Medical Center’s Lung Health Screening Program. “In fact, more people die from lung
cancer than from colorectal, breast and prostate cancer combined. That’s a surprise to many people.
We want to change that. Screening really is a breakthrough. Like other cancers, lung cancer can be
cured when it is caught early enough.”
to beat lung cancer
How the program works
Screening is for high-risk patients. If they meet
inclusion criteria, they are paired up with a nurse
navigator, who guides them through screening.
He or she stays with them through any follow-
up and treatment too. Screening is done with
reduced dose computed tomography (RDCT).
The scan gives detailed views of the lungs.
It takes just 10 to 15 minutes. No anesthesia
is needed.
The screening was developed from a large,
recent national clinical trial. High-risk patients
screened with RDCT had 20 percent fewer
deaths from lung cancer than the group
screened with chest x-rays. “RDCT uses a
very low dose of radiation. It is higher than a
typical x-ray, but the benefits of the screening
far outweigh the risks of not having the
screening, especially if lung cancer is
detected,” says Dr. Loube.
If nothing suspicious is found, patients are
urged to be screened in the future too. Patients
may need additional tests if the RDCT shows
suspicious nodules in their lungs. A special
surgical team will use several kinds of tests,
including some of the newest available, such as
endobronchial ultrasound and electromagnetic
navigation bronchoscopy.
Such tests allow doctors to take a close look
at tissue and get samples to check for cancer
cells. “We are trying to make a diagnosis in
the least invasive way possible,” says Andreas
Sakopo
u
los, MD, a cardiothoracic surgeon who
is part of the lung health team. “The tools we
have today are very precise, very sophisticated.”
Treatment for lung cancer depends on many
factors, including the location and stage of
the cancer. Thankfully, most nodules are not
cancerous, says chemotherapy and cancer
specialist Russell Hardy, MD. “Sometimes they are
scars left by infection or smoking. But we need to
continue to monitor patients who are at high risk.”
The screening costs $257 for eligible patients.
Patients must pay the fee up front. They can
Daniel Loube, MD,
Pulmonary Medicine
