Nylen Cancer offers Lung Check screenings

Wouldn't you feel comfortable knowing whether you may have early signs of lung cancer? Now you can.The June E. Nylen Cancer Center recently began providing a Lung Check, a chest CT scan, that uses low doses of radiation to provide three-dimensional images of the lungs, and catch lung cancer earlier.The screening is available with a physician's order, and is recommended for current and former smokers between the ages of 55 and 74. You'll need your physician's recommendation to receive the Lung Check. Then call 712-252-0088 to get scanned today.In Iowa, 2,300 new cases of lung cancer are diagnosed annually, and about 1,800 deaths are attributed to the disease in the state each year.A recent study by the National Cancer Institute found that early lung cancer screenings have been shown to reduce the mortality of lung cancer by 20 percent in middle-aged and elderly smokers. The National Lung Screening Trial involved more than 53,000 current and former heavy smokers.The treatment of lung cancer has changed in recent years, thanks in part to new technology, namely Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy, or SBRT, a type of external radiation therapy now available at the Nylen Cancer Center. In the past, the fear of exposure to radiation and the high cost of a CT scan meant many patients went unscreened until the disease was advanced and had caused other illness, such as pneumonia.With the SBRT capabilities, the low dosage of radiation given off during a chest CT is similar to the dose received during a mammogram. The scan itself takes only a few seconds.The cost of the screen is $205. Get signed up today.