Lung Cancer

Meet lung cancer’s worst enemy: screenings

STHS’s low-dose CT scan program is designed to catch, treat cancer early.

 

 

low-dose CT scan

 

Fact: Lung cancer is the number one cancer killer in the United States.


Also a fact: It doesn’t need to be.


That’s why St. Tammany Health System in 2015 launched its ACR-accredited low-dose CT scan screening program as part of our ongoing prevention and early detection efforts.


“It’s really pretty simple: Low-dose CT scans save lives,” said Megan Broussard, the low-dose CT program coordinator at St. Tammany Health System’s only-in-the-region Care Continuum Center of Excellence, as named by the GO2 Foundation for Lung Cancer. “If lung cancer is detected early, as a stage one disease, the five-year survival rate is between 68 and 92 percent. If it’s left until stage four, you go to a 10 percent five-year survival rate at best.”


Fortunately, Broussard said, low-dose CT scans are quick and painless.


“There are no needles, no dyes, no fasting,” she said. “You even keep your regular clothes on, and – for those concerned with small spaces – your head never even goes through the machine at any point during the procedure.”


Scroll down to learn more about this life-saving program. 


The lowdown on low-dose CT lung scans

As program coordinator at STHS’s only-in-the-region Lung Screening Center of Excellence, Megan Broussard walks you through the process of receiving a low-dose CT scan – which are simple, quick, painless and effective – and discusses how they save lives.


So, how do low-dose CT scans work?

A patient’s guide to the simple, painless, life-saving process.

A low-dose CT scan produces a 3D X-ray picture of a patient’s lungs. That image is taken using a small dose of radiation that is more than that used in a chest X-ray but much lower than in other types of CT scans.


During the procedure, which takes fewer than 15 seconds, a patient lays horizontally on a sliding platform. A technologist then positions the patient, sliding them feet-first through the ring-shaped CT scanner until their chest is in proper alignment with the equipment. The tech then briefly leaves the room, presses a button and, just like that, the procedure is complete.


And, really, that’s it. 


The scans are then evaluated by St. Tammany Health System’s trained radiologists, who look for any abnormalities. Results are usually available within 24 to 48 hours.


In addition to being quick and easy, low-dose CT scans are also safe. In fact, St. Tammany Health System’s Paul D. Cordes Outpatient Pavilion in Covington, where its low-dose CT program is based, is the only facility in the New Orleans metro area designated a Care Continuum Center of Excellence by the GO2 Foundation for Lung Cancer, in recognition of STHS’s commitment to providing responsible, high-quality and safe screening practices. 


Let’s talk

Have questions? Drop us a line. We're ready, willing and able to provide answers about lung cancer and low-dose CT scan screenings.

 

Megan Broussard, Lung Screening Coordinator

Megan S. Broussard, BSRT(R), RVT
Lung Screening Coordinator
(985) 871-5864

mbroussard@stph.org


Just the facts

Why should you be screened for lung cancer? Glad you asked …


  • Cancer is second-leading cause of death in the US behind heart disease. Lung cancer is one of the most common cancers and accounts for the largest number of cancer deaths among men (26%) and women (25%).
  • Time is everything when it comes to lung cancer. If it is detected early, as a stage one disease, the five-year survival rate is between 68 and 92 percent. If it’s left until stage four, the five-year survival rate plummets to 10 percent.
  • The American Cancer Society estimates 3,700 new cases of lung and bronchus cancer will be detected in Louisiana in 2020. They also estimate 2,330 Louisianans will die from lung cancer in 2020.
  • According to the American Lung Association, the rate of new lung cancer cases in Louisiana is 67.9 and significantly higher than the national rate of 59.6. It ranks 38th among all states, placing it in the below-average tier.
  • Tobacco use is the leading risk factor for lung cancer, although environmental exposures can increase the risk as well, so not everyone with lung cancer has a history of tobacco use.
  • The smoking rate in Louisiana is 23.1% and significantly higher than the national rate of 16.4%. It ranks 49th among all states, placing it in the bottom tier.
  • Louisiana ranks 41st among the 48 states with data on diagnosis at an early stage, placing it in the below-average tier.

A closer look

St. Tammany Health System prides itself on its comprehensive array of cancer care services. Among them:

 

Breast Imaging Center of Excellence

Breast Imaging Center of Excellence

Blending the soothing atmosphere of a spa with the unparalleled expertise of our fellowship-trained radiologists and the diagnostic capabilities of the newest technology, St. Tammany Health System’s Women’s Pavilion – deemed a Breast Imaging Center of Excellence – has become the Northshore’s go-to place for comprehensive breast health services.

UroNav

A GPS for your prostate? Kinda.

Doctors at St. Tammany Health System recently unveiled the organization’s new UroNav system, a high-tech blending of MRI imagery with ultrasound-guided images to aid doctors as they biopsy a patient’s prostate, helping them more efficiently detect possible cancer earlier. In a field in which early intervention is crucial, that’s no small thing.

Surgical services

Surgical services

For more than 65 years, the surgeons of St. Tammany Health System have been delivering the most innovative, comprehensive and safe healthcare options available to Northshore residents. The 90-plus staff members in our Surgical Department provide a full range of inpatient and outpatient surgical services – 5,000 every year – in our 10 state-of-the-art operating rooms.


We are here.

Whether you’ve got a question to ask or an appointment to keep, getting in touch with us is a cinch. Here’s everything you need to know:

 


St. Tammany Health System
Paul D. Cordes Outpatient Pavilion

16300 Highway 1085 (aka Bootlegger Road)
Covington, LA 70433

 

Ph: (985) 871-6080 
Scheduling: (985) 871-5665 

7 a.m. to 6 p.m. | Monday through Friday
7 a.m. to 1 p.m. | Saturday (Lab, X-ray, Ultrasound, CT and MRI)