St. Elizabeth Healthcare will surpass 30,000 low-dose CT (LDCT) lung cancer screenings by the end of the year. According to the American College of Radiology, that number places St. Elizabeth in the top 4 percent of systems in the country performing LDCT lung cancer scans. This year alone, physicians had an unprecedented run of 23 LDCT scans in a row that discovered Stage I cancer in screened patients. 66 Stage I lung cancers have already been discovered this year, or 76% of the 87 lung cancers discovered, year-to-date through the screening program.

“St. Elizabeth has the technology, the team, and the heart to provide lung cancer patients answers and care for them,” said Dr. Michael Gieske, Director of Lung Cancer Screening at St. Elizabeth. “We are collectively an integral part in the national effort to improve policy and research for lung cancer screening, treatment, and lung cancer awareness.”

Lung cancer is the deadliest of all major cancers, killing more Americans than breast, colon and prostate cancer combined. In Kentucky, the statistics are especially dismal as the state leads the country in lung cancer diagnoses and deaths. But if caught early in Stage I or II, patients have up to a 90% chance of curing their cancer. At St. Elizabeth, physicians have seen a 123% increase in Stage I diagnosis and 72.4% fewer Stage IV diagnosis since the program’s inception, leading to far better survival rates.

“St. Elizabeth Healthcare has a very robust and well-coordinated lung cancer screening program,” said Dr. Royce Calhoun, Medical Director of Thoracic Surgery at St. Elizabeth. “We pride ourselves in being the destination for lung cancer care in the region as we work to catch early, non-symptomatic disease in patients at risk.”

St. Elizabeth Healthcare was instrumental in passing KY HB 219 to promote lung cancer screening and to establish a commonwealth funded and directed Lung Cancer Screening Program within the Department for Public Health. The program’s goal is to improve access to high-quality screenings, the first program of its kind in the nation. The bill was signed into law by Governor Andy Beshear in March of 2022.

November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month, and St. Elizabeth is continuing its efforts to increase the number of people getting screened for lung cancer, especially those at risk for the disease. For more information on the Lung Cancer Screening Program at St. Elizabeth, visit stelizabeth.com.