TAMPA, Fla — In 2023, ABC Action News learned researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center were working to bring a mobile lung cancer screening bus to the Tampa Bay area.
The unit is now working, and doctors say they are ready to roll it out in force in 2025.
“We are in Moffitt’s first mobile lung cancer screening bus,” said Dr. Matthew Schabath, Program Leader of Cancer Epidemiology at Moffitt Cancer Center.
Dr. Schabath says this new tool will help with early detection and save lives.
“We know a major barrier to any sort of healthcare is access to that healthcare and number one is traveling, so this mitigates this – this allows us to bring this into the communities and it breaks down that number one barrier which is access,” said. Dr, Schabath.
They are working to target access and other factors like screening. According to the National Cancer Institute, lung cancer is the deadliest form of cancer in the United States.
“This is our low-dose CT scanner, which allows us to get the images of the chest as well as potentially early signs of lung cancer,” said Dr. Jaskaran Sethi, Interventional Pulmonologist at Moffitt Cancer Center.
Dr. Sethi explains inside the bus, people can get a low dose CT scan just like they would at a hospital or office.
According to the CDC, a low-dose CT scan is the only recommended screening test for lung cancer. Potential patients do need to make an appointment ahead of time because they need to make sure patients are authorized to get the screening through their health insurance.
“Unfortunately, in the United States and the state of Florida, the number of people who qualify for lung cancer screening that actually get it is dismal. Only about 16% of people in Florida who qualify for lung cancer screening get this,” said Dr. Schabath.
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends yearly lung cancer screening for people who are between 50 and 80 years old, have a 20-pack-year or more smoking history, and smoke now or have quit within the past 15 years.
“By bringing this into the community, we can get more people screened and save more lives,” said Dr. Schabath.
There is a schedule online of where the mobile lung cancer screening bus will be if people are interested in making an appointment. You can click here to learn more.
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