Atlantic General Hospital Receives ACR Lung Cancer Screening Center Designation

Berlin, Md. – Atlantic General Hospital was recently awarded the ACR Lung Cancer Screening Center designation by the American College of Radiology.

The ACR Lung Cancer Screening Center designation is only awarded to providers that achieve accreditation in the chest module and those whose facility meets or exceeds the requirements set forth by the ACR Lung Cancer Screening Committee.

“As an ACR Designated Lung Cancer Screening Center AGH provides these services to the community at or above the standards set forth by the American College of Radiology. This designation is an indication of our continued commitment to providing the community with the highest quality healthcare possible” commented AGH Staff Radiologist, Assen Todorov, M.D.

With its ACR designation, AGH has joined a select group of healthcare providers on the Eastern Shore who have recently begun to provide special low-dose CAT scans for those individuals who are at high risk for developing lung cancer.

While there is a low level of risk associated with exposure to imaging radiation, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force has determined that certain individuals can greatly benefit from annual screenings, as recently reported in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Three out of four people who are diagnosed with lung cancer may already have an incurable form of disease at the time of diagnosis and therefore have a five-year survival rate of less than five percent. The results of a large clinical trial have shown that annual screening with low-dose CT scans is associated with a twenty percent reduction in lung cancer deaths.

To qualify for screening, certain criteria that must be met. Individuals must - be between the ages of 55 and 74, be a current or former smoker who has quit in the last 15 years, have a 30-pack year smoking history (a pack a day for 30 years or two packs a day for 15 years), or a 20-pack year smoking history with certain risk factors such as asbestos exposure or family history of lung cancer.

*Additional criteria will be discussed with the patient at the initial appointment.

For more information about the ACR designation or the screening, individuals are encouraged to talk to their primary care physician. To have the test performed you will need a referral from your healthcare provider. Information is also available at atlanticgeneral.org/lungcancerscreening.