Columbus Community Hospital (CCH) Offers Low-Dose CT Lung Screenings

It’s hard to know what’s going on inside your body — especially if you feel fine. That’s why you should stay up to date on recommended health screenings.  

Columbus Community Hospital offers various screenings to help area residents stay healthy, including low-dose CT lung screenings. These checks use minimal radiation to provide a detailed image of patients’ lungs. 

Low-dose CT lung screenings are for qualified people who are at risk of developing lung cancer, but not showing symptoms.

To qualify for these screenings, patients must be:

• Referred by their physician.

• Between the ages of 50 and 80 years old.

• Someone who has a history of smoking at least one pack of cigarettes per day for 20 years, is a current smoker, or has quit within the last 15 years.

People who have symptoms that suggest a concern for lung cancer — such as abnormal weight loss and coughing up blood — would not qualify for these screenings. However, those who have chronic or productive coughing or shortness of breath are eligible for the screenings, since those are symptoms of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in general, and not necessarily lung cancer. 

CCH’s diagnostic imaging department performs the screenings, which only take about five minutes and could have a significant impact on a person’s health. 

“If you are a smoker or were a smoker, screening your lungs for cancer is important,” said Denise Tomek, director of radiology at CCH. “The earlier you find cancer, the more treatable it is.” 

For more information about these screenings, talk to your doctor or call the diagnostic imaging department at 402-562-3180. More information is also available at shouldiscreen.com.