How Ohio State doctors are increasing access to lung cancer screening

Ohio State lung cancer experts are reaching out — in Columbus and on the road — to bring world-class screening to more people.

Lung cancer, the nation’s leading cause of cancer deaths, is difficult to treat, especially at later stages. That’s why OSUCCC – James doctors and their colleagues are taking steps to boost the number of people who undergo screening, which could save countless lives through early detection.

As part of that effort, James doctors have endorsed new guidelines to make screening more widely available.

“The purpose of screening is to find cancers at their earliest stages,” Michael Wert, MD, says. “So the newest guidelines lower the minimum age and the amount of smoking a patient has to have an order to qualify for screening.”

Doctors will also be taking their message — along with their tech — on the road with the upcoming launch of a mobile lung cancer screening unit.

“Our highest-risk patients tend to have a harder time accessing large medical centers,” Wert says. “So the purpose of developing the mobile unit is to take our screening to the patients.”

For those who are diagnosed with lung cancer, the OSUCCC – James provides a variety of treatment options that are combined to formulate plans tailored to each patient.

“Treatment options vary widely — chemotherapy, radiation — some people can even get immunotherapy injections,” Wert says. “The treatment options are so much different and so much more effective than what they used to be. That is 100 percent due to the work of the behind-the-scenes researchers.”