Bassett Cancer Institute Shines a Light on Lung Cancer this November
Today is Whiteout Wednesday, a virtual event sponsored by Bassett Cancer Institute (BCI) in order raise awareness for Lung Cancer Awareness Month. Community members, patients and Bassett employees are wearing white to shine a light on this disease.
November 18, 2021 is the Great American Smokeout-a day dedicated to quitting tobacco use. Patients who use tobacco and wish to quit are invited to visit www.bassett.org/2021-smokeout to find resources including Bassett’s one-on-one tobacco cessation counseling.
Finally, any patient who is between 50 and 77 years old and is a smoker or ex-smoker may be eligible for lung cancer screening. The screening is simple and quick, consisting of a low-dose CT chest scan. This service is offered at Bassett Medical Center, A.O. Fox Hospital, Little Falls Hospital, O’Connor Hospital, Cobleskill Regional Hospital, and Lab/Medical Imaging at FoxCare. Interested patients should schedule an appointment with their primary care practitioner or call 607-547-7953 to learn more.
“Lung cancer is one of the deadliest cancers,” says Dr. Anush Patel, BCI’s chief of hematology oncology. “In year 2021 about 2,340,000 patients will be diagnosed with lung cancer in the United States. But it is also preventable. Smoking causes 80-85% of lung cancer in the U.S. Radon is the second most common cause. Educate our younger generations and teach them not to smoke. Get radon levels checked in your house.
“Lung cancers are also treatable. Like many other cancers, they have the highest chance of cure if diagnosed at an early stage. We are proud to provide low dose non contrast CT scan to detect lung cancer at early stage at Bassett Healthcare at multiple different locations throughout the network.”
For more information on the Shine a Light program please go to the GO2 Foundation website www.go2foundation.org.
