Women hear a lot about breast cancer awareness and prevention, and for good reason. It’s the most common cancer in women after skin cancer.
Right behind it, though, is lung cancer, not only the second most common cancer in women after skin cancer, but also the leading cause of cancer deaths.
Yet only 16% of eligible women currently undergo low-dose CT screening for lung cancer, compared to more than 80% of women who get mammograms to screen for breast cancer.
Enter Pink and Pearl, a RUSH MD Anderson Cancer Center campaign aimed at bridging the gap between reality and perception around lung cancer mortality for women — and boosting lung cancer screenings.
“Our main priority,” said Nicole Geissen, DO, a thoracic surgeon at RUSH MD Anderson, “is to make them more accessible for patients who need them.”
Complicated criteria
Although early detection of lung cancer remains patients’ best chance for survival, the main barrier to improving cure rates lies in identifying eligible patients early.
But while breast cancer screening eligibility is straightforward — any woman over 40 qualifies — lung cancer screening is governed by a more complicated set of criteria.
To be eligible for lung screening, patients must meet all of the following criteria:
- Are between ages 50 and 80
- Currently smoke, or used to smoke but quit in the last 15 years.
- Smoked heavily in the past, such as one pack a day for 20 years, or two packs a day for 10 years.
“There are a lot of boxes to check in order to get a lung cancer screening,” Geissen said.
Paired screening
The Pink and Pearl concept is simple but strategic: Use the high engagement rates of breast cancer screening to identify women who may also qualify for lung cancer screening.
RUSH MD Anderson clinicians give patients a brief intake questionnaire that they complete during mammogram appointments; it screens patients’ smoking history and other lung cancer risk factors.
Then patients who meet preliminary criteria are referred to RUSH MD Anderson’s team of lung cancer screening nurse navigators. These navigators confirm eligibility, discuss screening with the patients, coordinate with primary care physicians, and help schedule the exam.
This approach is already producing measurable results. Overall, RUSH MD Anderson’s lung cancer screening rate among eligible patients has climbed to 20%, which is higher than the national average of 16%.
“We’ve been very pleased with the effectiveness of Pink and Pearl,” Geissen said, “and are looking to carry that momentum forward to help more patients get screened.”
