INDIANAPOLIS— On Tuesday morning, IU Health and IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center rolled out the state's first mobile lung cancer screening program. The 40-foot truck with a CT scanner will travel around the state bringing life-saving screenings directly to Hoosiers.
“This is a public health initiative and it provides hope for Hoosiers. This is absolutely going to save lives for people in Indiana,” said Dr. Nasser Hanna, an oncologist with IU Health.
The program has been a few years in the making and was made possible by donations from the Tom and Julie Wood Family Foundation to the Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center and IU Health Foundation and was doubled through matching funds from IU Health.
The screening only takes two minutes and there’s no special prep or diet needed.
“Only about 15% of people who are eligible for lung screenings get it and those that are in the rural counties in Indiana are the most likely to get lung cancer and the least likely to get lung screenings,” said Hanna.
Lung cancer is the No. 1 cause of cancer death in the U.S. Each year, lung cancer takes the lives of more than 127,000 people in the U.S.—that’s more than colon and breast cancer combined. Dr. Hanna says women are more at risk for lung cancer. About 20% of women who get lung cancer have never smoked.
“More women get lung cancer than men, this is a new trend over the last couple of years and I think that’s really a gap in knowledge that people have. More women die of lung cancer than any other form of cancer,” said Hanna.
You can find out more about lung cancer screenings here and make an appointment at this link.
