Community News

(Somerville, N.J.) – Lung cancer accounts for approximately 27 percent of all cancer deaths and is by far the leading cause of cancer death among both men and women, according to the American Cancer Society. Identifying lung cancer at any early stage will offer more treatment options and increases the chances of survival, as the survival rate after a late diagnosis is very dismal and can be as low as a 15 percent. In an effort to increase survival rates, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset will be offering free lung cancer screenings for eligible smokers or former smokers for a limited time beginning May 1. Screenings will take place at RWJ Somerset’s Steeplechase Cancer Center, located at 30 Rehill Avenue in Somerville, NJ.

The goal of lung cancer screenings with low-dose computed tomography (CT) is to increase the number of lung cancers diagnosed at an early stage and to reduce the time between a lung cancer diagnosis and the start of the treatment. When identified early enough, lung cancer has been shown to be up to 90 percent curable.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends that people at high risk for lung cancer receive a low-dose CT scan every year. The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services also recently announced that they would add lung cancer screening as a benefit under Medicare for high risk patients.

“We have had tremendous interest in lung cancer screenings since the federal government announced it would cover for individuals with Medicare coverage,” said Katrina Losa, administrative director of the Steeplechase Cancer Center. “However, the Medicare reimbursement has not yet gone into effect. In the interim, we are pleased to offer lung cancer screenings free of charge for a limited time on a first-come, first-served basis to ensure that those at high risk have timely access to this important method of early detection.”

The Steeplechase Cancer Center will be providing free lung cancer screenings, which includes a CT scan and a follow-up visit with a health care provider, for:

Smokers or former smokers age 55 to 77
30 or more pack years of cigarette smoking (a pack a year equals the number of packs smoked per day times the number of years smoked)
Those who have quit within 15 years age 55 to 77 and are asymptomatic for signs of lung cancer
The best chance for treating lung cancer is to find it as early as possible. Symptoms often don’t appear in people until they have received a diagnosis in the later stages, when survival rates are low. Symptoms to be mindful of include coughing, infections, trouble breathing, pain from breathing, swelling and weakness. Symptoms in various parts of your body may also occur, such as having a loss of appetite, weight loss, muscle aches, frequent headaches, blood clots, and extreme fatigue. 

Qualified smokers and former smokers are urged to take advantage of RWJ Somerset’s free lung cancer screenings to reduce their risk of developing lung cancer and increase their chances of survival.

Limited space is available. To schedule your appointment, call (908) 927-8778.

To learn more about RWJUH, please visit www.rwjuh.edu. For a referral to a physician affiliated with RWJUH, please call 1-888-MD-RWJUH. Follow us on Twitter at www.rwjuh.edu/twitter and Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/RWJUH.

About Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital and Robert Wood Johnson Health System

Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH) is the flagship hospital of Robert Wood Johnson Health System – New Jersey’s premier health system which boasts three acute care hospitals: RWJUH in New Brunswick and Somerville; RWJUH- Hamilton and RWJUH- Rahway and a national leader in pediatric rehabilitation: Children’s Specialized Hospital, as well as five fitness and wellness centers and numerous outpatient facilities. Through RWJ Health System, patients have access to exceptional women’s and children’s services and expert cancer, cardiac, emergency, neurology, stroke, trauma and pediatric rehabilitation care in addition to comprehensive health and wellness programs.

RWJUH is a 965-bed academic medical center with campuses in New Brunswick and Somerville, NJ.  Its Centers of Excellence include cardiovascular care from minimally invasive heart surgery to transplantation, cancer care, stroke care, neuroscience, joint replacement, and women’s and children’s care including The Bristol-Myers Squibb Children’s Hospital at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (www.bmsch.org).  As the flagship Cancer Hospital of Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey and the principal teaching hospital of Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Brunswick, RWJUH is an innovative leader in advancing state-of-the-art care. A Level 1 Trauma Center and the only Pediatric Trauma Center in the state, RWJUH’s New Brunswick campus serves as a national resource in its ground-breaking approaches to emergency preparedness.

RWJUH has been ranked among the best hospitals in America by U.S. News & World Report seven times and has been selected by the publication as a high performing hospital in numerous specialties.  The Bristol-Myers Squibb Children’s Hospital has been ranked among the best hospitals in America by U.S. News & World Report for three consecutive years.

Both the New Brunswick and Somerset campuses have earned significant national recognition for clinical quality and patient safety, including the prestigious Magnet® Award for Nursing Excellence, an “A” patient safety rating from the Leapfrog Group and “Most Wired” designation by Hospitals and Health Networks Magazine. The Joint Commission and the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services have designated the New Brunswick Campus as a Comprehensive Stroke Center and the Somerset Campus as a Primary Stroke Center.

The American College of Surgeons’ Commission on Cancer has rated RWJUH New Brunswick among the nation’s best comprehensive cancer centers and designated the Steeplechase Cancer Center at RWJ Somerset as a Comprehensive Community Cancer Center.  The Joint Surgery Center at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset has earned the Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval for total knee and total hip replacement surgery.

For more Information visit us online at www.rwjuh.edu.