The month of November is a busy one, not only because of the holiday season, but also in terms of cancer awareness. This month is Lung Cancer Awareness Month, Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month as well as Stomach Cancer Awareness Month. In honor of these initiatives, Maryville Imaging is encouraging individuals to be proactive in their health and to seek annual checkups so that cancer can be detected at its earliest stages.
Lung Cancer Awareness
According to the American Lung Association, lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death in both men and women in the U.S. If you are at a high risk for lung cancer, you should speak with your doctor about having a computerized tomography (CT) scan done. A CT scan can detect the disease at its earliest stage when it is most treatable. What makes you at risk for lung cancer? If you are between 55 and 80 years old and have a history of heavy smoking, you should receive yearly lung cancer screenings. Also, if you have been frequently exposed to environmental hazards such as radon and asbestos, you have a higher chance of being diagnosed. At Maryville Imaging, we utilize a state of the art, low dose multi-slice CT scanner, which is the most effective screening to detect lung cancer. Our CT scan is efficient and effective, offering more detail than a traditional X-ray.
Pancreatic Cancer Awareness
There are nearly 280,000 news cases of pancreatic cancer each year, and it is the 7th leading cause of cancer-related death in the U.S. If you have two or more relatives that have been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, a first relative who was diagnosed before the age of 50 years old or you have a genetic syndrome associated with pancreatic cancer, you are at an increased risk for the disease. Pancreatic cancer can be diagnosed through a variety of screenings and diagnostic tests including a CT scan or a magnetic resonance imaging scan (MRI). While these imaging tests have not been proven 100 percent effective at detecting the disease in all patients, they have successfully identified the cancer in early stages for many people. The earlier the cancer is diagnosed, the more successful the treatment is. At Maryville Imaging, we provide patients with CT scans as well as MRIs, and deliver accurate results in a timely manner.
Stomach Cancer Awareness
According to the American Cancer Society, nearly 28,000 cases of stomach cancer will be diagnosed this year, and over 10,000 patients will die from the disease this year. Stomach cancer can be diagnosed through a variety of tests, including an upper endoscopy, an endoscopic ultrasound, a biopsy, an X-ray or a CT scan. At Maryville Imaging, we provide both X-rays and CT scans. X-rays can be performed on a walk-in basis without an appointment.
If you are at risk for any of these three cancers, we encourage you to schedule an appointment with your healthcare provider to discuss detection options. While the idea of being screened for cancer can often be stressful and scary, it is imperative for early detection and successful treatment. Avoiding testing and waiting until the cancer has spread and is in its latest stages is much scarier. If you have any questions regarding our imaging tests, please contact us today at 618-288-4949.