DELAWARE TO OFFER LUNG CANCER SCREENING

DOVER (April 30, 2015) - The Division of Public Health's Screening for Life Program will now cover lung cancer screenings for Delawareans who qualify for the Screening for Life Program. The Screening for Life Program covers breast, cervical, colorectal, and prostate cancer screenings for uninsured or underinsured Delawareans who are not eligible for Medicaid or the ACA Health Insurance Marketplace.

The screening - known as a low-dose CT scan - aims to catch lung cancer early, when it is most treatable. Lung cancer, which is the No. 1 cancer killer of Delaware men and women, accounts for more than 30 percent of all cancer deaths. The screening is available to current and former smokers deemed at high-risk for lung cancer. This includes men and women who:

• Currently smoke or quit smoking within the last 15 years
• Smoke or have smoked the equivalent of a pack a day for 30 or more years
• Are 55 to 80 years of age

These high-risk individuals should visit HealthyDelaware.org/lung or call 302-401-4212 to speak with a screening nurse navigator, who serves as a guide through the entire process. Across the state, Christiana Care Health System, Bayhealth Medical Center, and Beebe Healthcare will offer the screening. When compared to standard chest X-rays, the National Lung Screening Trial found low-dose CT scans lower the risk of dying from lung cancer by up to 20 percent. Delaware acted quickly on the findings.

"Our task now is to not only educate current and former smokers, but also healthcare providers," says Dr. Stephen S. Grubbs, an oncologist at Christiana Care Health System who also serves as the chair of the Delaware Cancer Consortium's Early Detection and Prevention Committee.

In a combined effort, the Screening for Life Program and the Delaware Cancer Consortium aim to add Delaware to the list of states with the lowest rates for cancer incidence and mortality. The program started with breast and cervical screenings in 1997, later adding colorectal in 2007 and prostate in 2009, all of which directly impacted Delaware's cancer incidence and mortality rates. Comparing the years 1995 to 1999 and 2005 to 2009, the state's cancer mortality rate decreased by 18.7 percent, 50 percent greater than the national rate. With the new lung cancer screening added to the program, Delaware now offers screenings to the uninsured or underinsured for all five of the most common cancer killers.

A person who is deaf, hard-of-hearing, deaf-blind, or speech-disabled can call the DPH phone number above by using TTY services. Dial 7-1-1 or 800-232-5460 to type your conversation to a relay operator, who reads your conversation to a hearing person at DPH. The relay operator types the hearing person's spoken words back to the TTY user. To learn more about TTY availability in Delaware, visit delawarerelay.com.

Delaware Health and Social Services is committed to improving the quality of the lives of Delaware's citizens by promoting health and well-being, fostering self-sufficiency, and protecting vulnerable populations. DPH, a division of DHSS, urges Delawareans to make healthier choices with the 5-2-1 Almost None campaign: eat 5 or more fruits and vegetables each day, have no more than 2 hours of recreational screen time each day (includes TV, computer, gaming), get 1 or more hours of physical activity each day, drink almost no sugary beverages.

Delaware Health and Social Services is committed to improving the quality of the lives of Delaware's citizens by promoting health and well-being, fostering self-sufficiency, and protecting vulnerable populations.