Lung Cancer Screening & Navigation Program

Wood County Hospital and the Maurer Family Cancer Care Center team is happy to announce a new Lung Cancer Screening/Navigation Program. The program’s overall goal is to increase the number of patients routinely screened for lung cancer. It will support physicians and patients by expediting reviewing, diagnosing, and treating lung cancer.

Low dose screening CT scans can “catch” lung cancers earlier, increasing overall survival rates. Nationally and locally, there is a high incidence of lung cancer. For example, lung cancer accounts for approximately 60% of the Maurer Family Cancer Care Center patients in the last quarter.

By launching the Lung Cancer Screening Navigation Program, patients will work with a nurse navigator, overseen by physicians whose experience is in diagnosing and treating lung cancer. The navigator keeps patients informed, on track and moving through the various steps of the diagnosis process and overcoming common barriers. The most common obstacles are financial barriers, lack of understanding of the diagnosis, the complexity of the healthcare system and how it works and the patient’s emotions, including fear.

Patients are encouraged to speak with their primary care physicians to determine if they meet the criteria (primarily age and smoking history) for a low dose CT lung screening or take our online quiz.