Back in 1962, three little words lifted a small car rental company that started out with just three vehicles at the Ypsilanti, Michigan airport, into national prominence.
Today, those same three words, “We try harder,” appear to have become the de facto motto of the Sebastian River Medical Center just north of Vero Beach, which is dwarfed in size (129 beds to 332 beds) by Indian River Medical Center, its healthcare neighbor to the south.
SRMC has now begun performing low-dose computerized tomography (LDCT) scans in order to discover early signs of lung cancer. It’s an impressive addition to the hospital’s growing thoracic oncology program because LDCT scans subject patients to much less radiation and are better at detecting very small lung abnormalities.
SMRC and its director of imaging services, Matt McGill, previously installed state-of-the-art Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Electromagnetic Navigation Bronchoscopy (ENB) equipment.
Catching and treating lung cancer – the number one cause of cancer deaths worldwide – in its earliest stages is the only statistically-proven way to stop this deadly disease, and low dose CT scans are currently recognized as the best way to do that.
The prospect of being diagnosed with lung cancer is obviously a scary one but SRMC is providing its patients with a hand to hold. Literally.
Nurse navigator Shana Crovo, a registered nurse with a bachelor’s degree in nursing science, puts it this way: “Basically, I hold the patient’s hand from beginning. I discuss everything with them and provide them with educational material. We start our relationship discussing what will be covered in the LDCT; how the results will be returned to them; what the follow-up may be and what other treatments could follow should we find something.”
Aware that waiting on medical test results – especially for cancer – can be excruciating, the diminutive Crovo quickly adds, “Our goal is to have the results to the patient, should they find something, within one day. One to two business days, max.”
The American Lung Association reports, “Approximately 402,326 Americans living today have been diagnosed with lung cancer. In 2014, 224,210 new cases of lung cancer were diagnosed and over half those people with lung cancer will die within one year.”
In Florida alone, estimates are that 11,883 will die this year from lung cancer.
It’s no secret that upwards of 85 percent of lung cancers occur in current or former cigarette smokers. For that reason, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force now recommends annual LDCT screening for lung cancer for everyone, “age 55 through 80 years with a 30 pack-year history of smoking who are currently smoking or have quit within the past 15 years.”
The good news is that the American Academy of Family Physicians reported in February of this year that Medicare will now pay for annual LDCT lung cancer screenings for former and current heavy smokers between the ages of 55 and 77 and is considering raising that top-end age limit to 80.
Since most private insurance companies tend to follow Medicare’s lead, LDCT scans will now be covered for millions of Americans.
So, what makes LDCT scans such an improvement over traditional x-rays?
First, LDCT scans are able to detect even very small nodules or possible cancers within the lung at their earliest and most treatable stages.
Secondly, low dose scans, as the name implies, use 90 percent less ionizing radiation than conventional scans. Plus, the procedure itself is quite fast. The patient may only have to remain motionless and hold their breath for 10 seconds.
Beyond that, the scanning is painless and non-invasive and no residual radiation remains inside the patient’s body. Moreover, should cancer be detected, patients usually will have the option to undergo minimally invasive surgeries, losing substantially less lung tissue.
Nevertheless, in the most basic of terms, LDCT scans work much like traditional x-ray exams in that radiation is beamed through the body. However, while that’s happening, a series of electronic detectors rotate around the body in a kind of spiral path. Specialized computer programs then process the resulting data into two-dimensional cross-section views making it much easier to spot anomalies such as cancerous nodules.
Working under guidelines from the American College of Radiology and the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, SRMC has already been named a “screening center of excellence,” by the Lung Cancer Alliance and will be hosting a special event on lung cancer screening, smoking cessation and new treatment techniques at the hospital on Thursday, Nov. 5 at 6 p.m.
Crovo sums up her hospital’s new program simply. “LDCT,” she says, “is a great way to save lives.”
Nurse navigator Shana Crovo can be reached at Sebastian River Medical Center, 13695 U.S. Hwy. 1 in Sebastian. The phone number is 772-388-4318.
