TULSA, Okla. — November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month so Tulsa doctors are urging smokers and former smokers to get screened for lung cancer. A new study says Oklahoma is 42nd in the nation for lung cancer survival rates.
At the St. Francis Cancer Center, Libby Stewart is an oncology nurse navigator for lung cancer. She specializes in helping patients through the process.
“From first suspicion of lung cancer all the way through to obtaining diagnosis,” said Libby Stewart.
With more than a decade in this field, she knows, firsthand, the importance of early screenings.
“If it’s caught early, it is curable or potentially curable,” said Stewart. “Advance stages are treatable but not curable.”
She says patients don’t normally see symptoms until the late stages, so new guidance is expected to get people in earlier.
The American Cancer Societyrecommends yearly screenings for people ages 50 to 80 with a smoking history of 20-pack years meaning one pack a day for 20 years or the equivalent.
“If we get you in here in the first place and we find out earlier we’re going to save lives,” said Dr. Mark Boomer. “It’s as simple as that.”
Dr. Mark Boomer, a pulmonologist who uses advanced bronchoscopy to diagnose lung cancer, says the statistics are staggering.
Dr. Boomer says only 4.7% of screenable patients get screened across the country using the low-dose CT scan. The numbers in Oklahoma are worse at only 1.7%.
“One of the big factors is that patients are somewhat afraid to pursue that because they’re afraid of a diagnosis of lung cancer and the devastating connotations,” said Dr. Boomer.
He urges patients not to give into fear or stigma because early detection can improve outcomes. Dr. Boomer says late stage lung cancer has an 8% survival rate, but when it’s caught early the survival rate is at least 63%.
“Our survival for lung cancer has improved slightly and we’re on the right trajectory but we believe that we can significantly impact that,” said Dr. Boomer.
St. Francis has alung cancer risk assessmentto see if you’re high risk.
To view the latest data on lung cancer in Oklahoma visit here.
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