Breathe Easier!

Roper St. Francis Healthcare’s affordable new lung cancer screenings will help save lives.

It’s early November and the pink ribbons so prevalent throughout October are still hanging around. But here’s a chilling fact: breast cancer is NOT the number one cancer killer for women. Lung cancer is.

In fact, lung cancer is the top cancer killer for American women AND men, largely because it’s a silent cancer—rarely exhibiting symptoms until it’s well advanced and more deadly. Just as the disease often lurks under the radar in the body, lung cancer is a “silent” cancer in the public realm too, with no big PR campaign behind it. Low awareness and high mortality is not a good combo.

Roper St. Francis Healthcare is working to change this. During Lung Cancer Awareness month (November!) we are doing more than spreading the word about lung cancer, we are working to make it less deadly by promoting early detection through preventative lung CT screenings. And here’s the real exciting news: now these screenings are only $99!

Roper St. Francis Healthcare is pleased to offer Low Dose CT Lung Screening studies at a newly reduced charge of $99 at all CT scan locations. To be eligible for this procedure, patients must meet three criteria:

• Between the ages of 55 and 80, with no signs or symptoms of lung cancer and/or pulmonary disease.
• Active or former smoker with a 30 pack-year smoking history. (One pack per year equals one pack of cigarettes per day for one year. Thirty pack years would be one pack of cigarettes per day for 30 years, two packs of cigarettes per day for 15 years, etc.)
• A current smoker or quit no more than 15 years ago.

There are also several exclusion criteria to be aware of:

• Pacemaker or spinal hardware: these cause prohibitive imaging artifacts.
• Upper respiratory infection treated with antibiotics in last 12 weeks. (May increase risk of false positive study)
• Hemoptysis or unexplained weight loss greater than 15 pounds in the past year. (Consider diagnostic CT if warranted)
• Prior cancer within last five years, except non-melanoma skin cancer. (Consider diagnostic CT if warranted).

Talk to your doctor if you meet the above criteria. A simple screening may save your life!