Lung Cancer Screening: It Could Save Your Life | Regina's Story + Q&A With an Expert
Lung cancer screenings could save your life. They can catch cancer early, when the cancer is most treatable, before you begin to experience symptoms. Watch one lung cancer patient's story and get answers to common questions about lung cancer screenings in these 2 Your Well-Being discussions with WFMY News 2.
Regina's Story
At 18 years old, Regina Duff picked up her first cigarette.
“Everybody was doing it. And I just started doing it myself,” she recalls. “My big sister, you know, she smoked, so I was following after her.”
It helped her relieve stress, and she got used to it – until it eventually became a habit.
“Every 15 minutes. I smoked about maybe a pack a day. I smoked for 30 years,” she says.
The thought of smoking’s impact on her health didn't cross her mind until she turned 54, when she started having problems breathing. Her primary physician suggested she stopped smoking, but she didn't.
“When you get up in the morning that's the first thing you want to do, is smoke a cigarette… after you eat, you want to smoke a cigarette.”
Regina had trouble breathing again and landed in a hospital for two months. The provider there told her to get a CT scan due to her history.
“I had the CT scan done, and then it came back – with a very little spot,” says Regina. The spot was located on her lungs.
Bradley Icard, DO, a pulmonary critical care physician at Cone Health, reviewed Regina’s scans.
“After coming to the decision that her nodule looked like a lung cancer, I told her that I was going to reach out to one of my colleagues, Dr. Lightfoot,” says Dr. Icard.
That very same day, Regina was wheeled into another room to meet Harrell Lightfoot, MD, a surgeon who helped remove the spot from her lungs.
“After the surgery, patients usually stay in the hospital two to four days” says Dr. Lightfoot. “Some patients go home the day after surgery, if everything looks good.”
There was no radiation or chemotherapy needed. Thanks to early detection, Regina is now cancer free.
“I'm just grateful, because that's the one thing I was very scared of when he told me that I had cancer: that I would not see my oldest son get married,” says Regina.
Early detection is key for treating cancer. “Most lung cancers are actually diagnosed asymptomatic,” explains Dr. Icard. This means that most lung cancers are diagnosed without the patient having any symptoms.
“And that's why screening is so important,” emphasizes Dr. Icard.
Today, Regina lives a full and healthy life. “I walk my dog,” she says. “I have three granddaughters. My son just got married.”
She also encourages others who are finding it difficult to stop smoking to get screened to.
“If you can get a CT scan done early, please do,” she says. “Because that's what saved my life. That's what really saved my life.”
Q&A on Lung Cancer Screenings With Bradley Icard, DO
In this 2 Your Well-Being discussion. Dr. Icard answers common questions about lung cancer screenings. Learn more by watching the full video interview above.
Lung Cancer Screening at Cone Health
Discover lung cancer early — before symptoms appear— to increase your chances for effective, lifesaving treatment. At Cone Health, we offer a low-dose computed tomography (CT) lung cancer screening. To learn more about who needs lung cancer screenings and to schedule an appointment, click here.
