BHC Chief Medical Officer stresses importance of early lung cancer testing at luncheon

Baptist Health Corbin Chief Medical Officer Dr. David Worthy was the keynote speaker during the Southern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce monthly membership luncheon Tuesday.

Baptist Health Corbin Chief Medical Officer Dr. David Worthy has a message for you if you are between the ages of 50 and 80, you either smoke or have quit smoking within the last 15 years, and if you smoked one pack of cigarettes per day for 20 years or more or two packs per day for 10 years or more.

You need to get tested for lung cancer because the earlier lung cancer is caught, the more likely a patient is to survive and survive for longer periods of time.

The five-year survivability rate for types of cancer vary from 99 percent for prostate cancer patients compared to only 18 percent for lung cancer patients.

This is due largely to lung cancer typically being diagnosed at such late stages after it has spread to much of the body.

“We have to change this dynamic,” Worthy told members of the Southern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce during its monthly membership luncheon Tuesday in Williamsburg.

“We have to shift the diagnosis to the other side of this curve. We have to catch these cancers earlier and the good news is we have the technology to do that.”

Recent research shows that more than 80 percent of lung cancers may be cured if detected early enough.

“Early detection dramatically decreases death rates from lung cancer. It shifts that curve up to 95 percent survivability if we get it early,” Worthy added.

The good news is that most insurance carriers and Medicare cover the low-dose CT scan that Worthy is recommending if you meet the previously listed criteria. (The procedure does require preauthorization.)

There is no preparation for the scan. It does not require needles, injections or contrast. Most scans take less than 15 minutes.

A national lung screening trial involving 53,000 people, who received annual screenings over a three year period with low dose CT scans, resulted in a 20 percent reduction in lung cancer mortality.

Currently, only 5 percent of patients, who qualify for lung cancer screening, receive it.

Lung cancer screening is especially important in Kentucky.

Lung cancer is the number one cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States, and Kentucky ranks the worst in the nation out of 50 states and the District of Columbia for rates of new lung cancer cases at 87.6 per 100,000 people compared to the national rate of 56.7 per 100,000 people.

Southeastern Kentucky leads the state in terms of cancer-related deaths due in part to higher amounts of people smoking. Statistics show that 80 – 85 percent of lung cancer patients smoke.

“We are at the epicenter for lung cancer in the United States. We more than any other population group of people need to get our folks in for this screening,” Worthy said encouraging those in attendance to spread the word about early screening to friends and family members. “It’s the battle for cancer we really have to have here in Kentucky.”

Baptist Health Corbin was the sponsor of Tuesday’s chamber of commerce luncheon.

Vice-President Mark Steely noted that the hospital is currently in the process of installing a new CT scanner, and that the hospital is in the early stages of a major new expansion.

The patient tower will expand the emergency department and the critical care department and will allow for private patient rooms.

Steely said that planning will probably take about one year to complete followed by construction, which is expected to take about two years.

David’s Steakhouse provided catering for Tuesday’s luncheon.

Next month’s chamber luncheon will be held at The Corbin Center on Oct. 10.