What professionals can do more to address the lung cancer screening gap

Transcription:

This video series features Dr. Peter Baik, a thoracic surgeon at the Cancer Treatment Centers of America® (CTCA) in Phoenix and Chicago, and is moderated by Kristie L. Kahl.

bald: Why is lung cancer particularly important when it comes to screening and early detection of this disease?

good: Therefore, the number of patients who die from lung cancer is the highest. And among the major cancers, lung cancer has the highest percentage of patients dying. Therefore, if the nodule is found <1 cm in him (peripheral early lung cancer), the 5-year overall survival rate is found to exceed 90%. However, his 5-year survival rate drops from 70% to 60% if he metastasizes to regional rather than regional lymph nodes. That is, there is a large disparity in terms of potential survival.

bald: What challenges do we still see in getting people screened for lung cancer?

good: Therefore, there are multiple challenges when it comes to lung cancer screening. In the United States, a Public Health Services Task Force recommended low-dose CT screening for lung cancer about ten years ago. And what’s frightening is that these CTS indications are about 6% nationally. If he translates that into colorectal cancer within a few years, it’s over 50%. With breast cancer, the same goes from less than 50% to 70-80% he within a year.

So why isn’t lung cancer screening so widely adapted? Second, are there any costs associated with it? If you have Medicare, most insurance companies will or should cover it. So it’s very important to get that screened, but many patients don’t know about it. “Uncle Joe smoked cigarettes for 50 years and died soon after.” “Oh, they never had any problems.” “We have good genes.” You may have good genes, but you’re taking a chance. So there’s always that denial and accessibility.

Get the low-dose CT they want. who will manage it? Would you like to see a respiratory specialist? Who’s sorting out the reports? may have missed. Another thing is that there are definitely hurdles when it comes to qualifying for LDCT and sharing the decision-making conversation. And having that resource is limited. And especially in underserved areas. So they are already time bound. To see doctors and other healthcare providers, it’s not a logistical question how they’re going to share decisions and get low-dose CTs. And this is a problem that many have written about trying to solve. But when health services and President Biden discussed cancer moonshots, their outlook for indications for lung cancer screening suggested that low-dose CT was very low. They expect adaptation to reach about 8% to 9% by 2030.

bald: So what are we doing and what more can we do to counteract these challenges?

good: Patients must be their own advocate. Don’t just wait for a phone call from the doctor’s office. Of course, it takes time to read the CT and get the results. But if you get a low dose CT of her and hear nothing after a week, find out. If you’re not satisfied that things are out of control, ask someone else for a second opinion. You are not a patient of the medical system. your own patient. And you can go anywhere.

bald: We always talk about patients advocating for themselves and finding their voice. Are there any resources or advocacy groups you can recommend to raise awareness about

good: The largest organization is the American Lung Association. It’s a great group, reach out to them. Of course, we will also answer your questions. So visit our website and get as much information as possible. But the American Lung Association is a national organization and the most widely used, so care managers likely have resources too.

Transcript edited for clarity and brevity.

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