Lung Screening Saves Lives: Aspirus Offering Screening Event in Wausau
August 1 is World Lung Cancer Day
8/1/2023
 Christopher Peterson, MD, Aspirus Board-Certified Oncologist, (R) Britta Wolter, Aspirus Nurse Practitioner.jpg)
Christopher Peterson, MD, Aspirus Board-Certified Oncologist, (R) Britta Wolter, Aspirus Nurse Practitioner
Many people are aware
of the importance of mammograms and colonoscopies, but few are aware that a
scan can help detect one of the deadliest cancers of all – lung cancer.
According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), lung cancer is the leading
cause of cancer-related death in the United States. And Aspirus Health is
making it easier to find earlier so it can be treated earlier.
“Low-dose CT scans can
find very small cancers on the lungs that otherwise wouldn’t have been
detectable,” explains Dr.
Christopher Peterson, a Board-certified oncologist at Aspirus Cancer Care.
“We can now find them very early, before any symptoms are present, so we can
remove them at a very early stage.”
"When we’re able
to identify cancers earlier, we’re more often able to cure those cancers,” he
explains.
Aspirus Health offers
a lung cancer screening program for individuals at high risk.
“We created the lung
screening program to centralize and streamline the entire process for our
patients,” says Britta
Wolter, Nurse Practitioner at Aspirus Pulmonary & Critical Care.
Dr. Peterson
recommends lung cancer screenings for patients who have a significant smoking
history and are healthy enough to likely have a good outcome if identified. In
general, this includes:
- Current or former
smokers (quit in the last 15 years)
- Ages 50-77 (80 for
private insurance)
- More than 20 pack
years (smoking one pack a day for 20 years, or the equivalent)
- No existing symptoms
of lung cancer such as coughing blood or chest pain
For those meeting this
criteria, Aspirus Cancer Care – Wausau will be holding a lung screening event
on Friday, September 22, 2023. Screenings will take place between 9:00 am and
1:00 pm. Call 715.847.2284 to reserve your spot
or to learn more.
When a patient is
confirmed to be a candidate for a low-dose CT scan, the test is then scheduled
for the patient.
Dr. Peterson adds,
“low-dose CT scans are painless and quick.”
Aspirus Cancer Care – Wausau
215 North 28th Avenue
Wausau, WI 54401
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