CORNWALL – The Cornwall Community Hospital has signed on to be a fifth hospital screening people at high risk for developing lung cancer.
The Lung Cancer Screening Pilot for People at High Risk by Cancer Care Ontario started in June 2017 with four hospitals.
Now, CCH will be doing the CT scans, in hopes of catching the disease which killed more people in 2016 than breast, colorectal and prostate cancers combined.
Those eligible for the screening have to be referred by their doctor. You must be 55 to 74 years old and have smoked daily for at least 20 years. Referrals started coming in Oct. 1.
CCH Diagnostics Director Jennifer Barkley says they are pleased to be part of the trial with the Cornwall area having higher smoking rates than other Ontario communities.
Province-wide, the screening saw nearly 1,900 patients in its first year and caught 18 early cases of lung cancer.