Issue link: http://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/778134
LUNG CANCER IS a dead ly a nd ex pensive d i sea se. It i s by fa r t he lea d i n g c au se of ca ncer death a mong both men a nd women. According to the A merica n Ca ncer Societ y, about 1 out of 4 ca ncer deaths a re from lung cancer. In fact, more people die of lung cancer each yea r tha n of colon, breast, a nd prostate ca ncers combined. A nd the incidence of this disease continues to g row. In 2016, the ACS predicted a tota l of about 224,390 new cases of lung ca ncer (117,920 in men a nd 106,470 in women) compa red to a tota l of 220, 208 in 2015 (115,610 in men a nd 104,598 in women). The f ina ncia l burden is just as troubling. According to the Nationa l Institutes of Hea lth (NIH), hea lth care for people with lung cancer cost the U.S. more tha n $13.4 billion in 2015. This trend, a long with what was at the time a just-approved NIH use of technolog y, led t he physicia n leaders of Wester n Reser ve Hospita l to create and launch its Lung Hea lth Prog ra m in 2013. " W hile lung cancer is the number one cause of death in this countr y, it is impor ta nt to understa nd t hat it is a lso t he number one preventable for m of ca ncer," says Cha rles Fuenning, MD, pu lmonolog ist a nd critica l ca re physicia n a nd Chief Medica l Off icer of Western Reser ve Hospita l in Cuya hoga Fa lls, OH. " We created the Lung Hea lth Program to help with ea rly identif ication of the disease, a nd to provide tools a nd education that a re desig ned to help patients stop habits t hat lead to a nd exacerbate current lung hea lth problems they may have." A ke y c omp onent i n We s t er n R e s er ve Ho s pit a l 's L u n g He a lt h P r o g r a m i s t he i nc lu s ion of low- do s e he l ic a l c omput e d Charles Fuenning, MD, pulmonologist and critical care physician and Chief Medical Officer of Western Reser ve Hospital in Cuyahoga Falls, OH Western Reserve Hospital's Lung Health Program: SAVING LIVES, IMPROVING LIFESTYLES BY NEIL ALLEN PHOTO COURTESY OF WESTERN RESERVE HOSPITAL, CUYAHOGA FALLS, OH A key component in Western Reserve Hospital's Lung Health Program is this low-dose helical computed tomography (CT), which is extremely accurate for early detection of cancers and nodules. PHOTO BY KEN LOVE PHOTOGRAPHY, COPLEY, OH 1 4 1 4 H O S P I TA L S P O T L I G H T