Lung cancer is now the leading cause of cancer death in the United States, killing more people than breast, colorectal and cervical cancers combined.<\/p>\n
Yet, a New York doctor says screening rates are still far too low across the tri-state area.<\/p>\n
“Only about 20% are getting screened of the people who are eligible,” says Dr. John Melnick, of Lenox Hill Radiology.<\/p>\n
Doctors say the lung scan – which takes less than a minute – can mean the difference between life and death.<\/p>\n
The Turn To Tara team went to check out the latest technology and AI tools, which are changing the way doctors screen for the deadliest cancer in the U.S.<\/p>\n
News 12 senior reporter Tara Rosenblum even climbed atop a table at Lenox Hill Radiology to see how a low-dose CT scan, or LDCT, works firsthand.<\/p>\n
Doctors say that the technology has evolved dramatically in recent years, making it possible to spot tiny lung nodules earlier than ever before.<\/p>\n
Radiologists can closely watch for the earliest signs of trouble while the machine is running.<\/p>\n
Local imaging centers, like the RadNet imaging network, are also trying to expand access through a $165 self-pay screening program aimed at people who may not qualify through insurance. This includes firefighters, veterans or those exposed to secondhand smoke.<\/p>\n
Melnick says artificial intelligence also is changing the game.<\/p>\n
“When computers are there to assist, they basically bring your eyes to the areas that are potentially suspicious,” he says.<\/p>\n
The goal is to catch cancer before symptoms ever appear, when treatment is most effective.<\/p>\n
Doctors say that for those who have a history of smoking or long-term exposure to toxins, it’s worth asking your doctor whether you should be screened.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Lung cancer is now the leading cause of cancer death in the United States, killing more people than…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":306353,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[98,100,99,9,24,63],"class_list":["post-306352","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn-headlines","tag-brooklyn-news","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/306352","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=306352"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/306352\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/306353"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=306352"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=306352"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=306352"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}