UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute to Offer Lung Screenings on Saturday, Nov. 14
| LITTLE ROCK — The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute will offer lung screenings Saturday, Nov. 14, from 8 a.m. to noon for the fifth annual National Lung Screening Day and Lung Cancer Awareness Month.
Low-dose CT screenings will be given on the third floor of the Cancer Institute located at 449 Jack Stephens Drive in Little Rock. Free parking will be available in UAMS Parking Deck 3, 4030 W. Capitol Ave., next to the Cancer Institute.
Screenings will also be offered at UAMS Health in Bryant, located at 1901 Encore Way.
An appointment is required. To schedule a screening, call 501-526-5777. These screenings take about 15 minutes. Low-dose CT screening is fully covered by Medicare for adults 50 to 78 and by most commercial insurance.
These screenings are for people at higher risk for lung cancer, and research shows that yearly scans can help identify abnormal areas before symptoms start and lower the risk of dying from lung cancer.
Screening is recommended for adults ages 50 to 80 who:
- Currently smoke or used to smoke
- Have a smoking history of at least 20 pack-years (this means one pack a day for 20 years, two packs a day for 10 years, etc.)
“Early detection gives patients the best chance for successful treatment and that happens when screening is accessible,” said Michael Birrer, M.D., Ph.D., UAMS vice chancellor and director of the Cancer Institute. “With the addition of the lung screening vans, we are bringing life-saving screenings closer to home for Arkansas communities.”
According to the American Lung Association, lung cancer continues to be the leading cause of cancer deaths in Arkansas. Though screenings can save lives by catching cancer early, Arkansas ranks 33 out of 51 in the nation for lung cancer screening, with very low screening rates for those at high risk. Tobacco use remains the leading cause of lung cancer, and the smoking rate in the state is significantly higher than the national average.
“One of the biggest challenges with lung cancer is that it often causes no symptoms in its early stages when treatment is most effective,” said Matthew Steliga, M.D., division chief of thoracic surgery at UAMS. “It’s so important to know your risk and talk to your provider about screening. A low-dose CT scan can find lung cancer before symptoms develop, giving patients the best chance for successful treatment.”
For questions about the Nov. 14 screenings, email JLBoyd@uams.edu.
UAMS is the state’s only health sciences university, with colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Professions and Public Health; a graduate school; hospitals in Little Rock and Bryant; an orthopaedic hospital; a main campus in Little Rock; a Northwest Arkansas regional campus in Fayetteville; a statewide network of regional campuses; and seven institutes: the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, Psychiatric Research Institute, Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging, Translational Research Institute, and the Institute for Community Health Innovation. UAMS includes UAMS Health, a statewide health system that encompasses all of UAMS’ clinical enterprise, including affiliated hospitals in Pine Bluff, Helena-West Helena, Mena, and Warren. UAMS is the only adult Level 1 trauma center in the state. UAMS has 3,813 students and 1,030 medical residents and fellows, and two dental residents. It is the state’s largest public employer with about 12,000 employees, including 1,200 physicians who provide care to patients at UAMS, its regional campuses, Arkansas Children’s, the VA Medical Center and Baptist Health. Visit www.uams.edu or uamshealth.com. Find us on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), YouTube or Instagram.###