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Prevent lung diseases early with screenings from Spectrum Health

Posted at 11:22 AM, Feb 14, 2019
and last updated 2019-02-14 11:22:54-05

The love of your life may take your breath away, but if that's happening in a literal sense, it might be time to see a doctor. Spectrum Health has an advanced and comprehensive interventional pulmonology team that treats COPD, lunch cancer, and other lung diseases.

Spectrum Health's team of pulmonology and critical care specialists is the largest multidisciplinary group of lung care specialists in Michigan. They are also the only health system in West Michigan to offer a lung cancer multispecialty team clinic.

New technologies for treating these conditions include the Auris Monarch robot for bronchoscopy improves patient safety by allowing visualization and navigation to peripheral lung lesions which are not reachable utilizing traditional bronchoscopic methods.

Lung cancer is the third most common cancer and the leading cause of cancer related death in the United States. The good news is that the Spectrum Health Cancer Center continues to make great advancements in the treatment of lung cancer.

In 2018 Spectrum Health's lung cancer screening program was again named a Screening Center of Excellence by the Lung Cancer Alliance, recognizing they are committed to best practices in quality and standards in lung cancer screening.

Screening is covered by most insurers as a preventative screening if patients meet the criteria:

  • Active smokers who have 30 or more pack-years of cigarette smoking history (pack-years = packs per day x years smoked)
  • Former smokers who quit smoking within the past 15 years

To schedule an appointment at Spectrum Health Lunch Cancer Clinic, call 1-855-SHCANCER or visit spectrumhealth.org.