LUNG CANCER SCREENING PROGRAM bROOKLYN’S TOP DOCTORS HOMEREPORTER.COM 5 Lung Cancer is the leading cause of death in people dying from cancer, both in men and women. According to the CDC (Centers for disease Control) estimates for 2015 deaths due to lung cancer will be more than all deaths from cancers of the Breast, Prostate and Colorectal combined. Cigarette smoking is a major cause of lung cancer. Greater than 80% of lung cancers develop in patients who smoke. Coney Island Hospital services nearly 900,000 residents and based on data from The New York Academy of Medicine its’ catchment has the largest smoking population. The hospital offers a Smoking Cessation program that provides assistance to help patients quit smoking. The National Lung Cancer Screening Trial (NLST) conducted by the American College of Radiology, enrolled 54,454 patients between 2002 To qualify for the Lung Cancer Screening Program you must be: • Age 55-80 years • History of cigarett e smoking 30 years • If former smoker, quit within 15 years • Receive a writt en order from a physician and 2010. This trial compared Chest Xray verses Low Dose Catscan of the chest to detect lung cancers in high risk patients. Results of the Trial were published in 2011 in The New England Journal of Medicine. Low dose CT detected more cancers than Chest xray and more importantly the cancers detected by CT scan were earlier stage, leading to better patient survival. In 2015 the American Cancer Society estimated that there were about 221,000 new cases of lung cancer and over 57 percent lead to death. Some of these deaths could have been prevented with early detection through lung cancer screenings. There are more than 430,000 people living with a diagnosis of lung cancer and some people with earlier stage cancers that has been cured. In spring of 2016 NYC Health + Hospitals/Coney Island will have the “fi rst” Lung Cancer Screening Program within the Public Health Care System. The program is being developed by a multidiscipline group of board certifi ed physicians from the areas of Radiology, Surgery, Oncology, Pulmonology and Ambulatory. Currently the Radiology Department at Coney Island Hospital lead by Dr. Daniel Contractor, Chair of Radiology provides services that detect, diagnose and treat patients with lung disease, vascular disease, cancer and other comorbidities. “It is important to realize that smoking causes many other comorbidities in addition to lung cancer that can be detected through radiologic imaging,” said Dr. Contractor, “the Lung Cancer Screening Program has recently been approved for commercial and Medicare reimbursements.” This recent change in reimbursements allows physicians to focus on preventative treatments and not worry about patients being burdened with costly bills and inability to pay for their treatments. Once the Lung Cancer Screening Program begins there will be advancements in prevention medicine through early detection of cancers in its’ earliest stage. This early detection can help reduce the number of deaths related to lung cancer. LANA VARDANIAN MD, FACP, Chairperson, Ambulatory Care Services 718-616--3789 PADMANABHAN KRISHNAN MD, FACCP, Division Chief Pulmonary Medicine 718-616-3171 TIMOTHY HALL, MD Chairperson, Surgery Director of Thoracic Surgery 718-616-3440 DANIEL CONTRACTOR, MD Chairperson, Radiology 718-616-3738 JACK BURTON, MD Director of Hematology/ Oncology 2601 Ocean Parkway, Brooklyn, NY 11235 718-616-3183
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