Lung cancer continues to take its toll on South Carolina residents, particularly in the Upstate. 

The Upstate has the highest percentage of people who have smoked in their lifetime. Nationwide, lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death each year and is the second most common cancer in both men and women. 

Providers at Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System are finding ways to catch cancer earlier through an innovative screening tool and promoting smoking cessation to help residents live healthier lives. 

Low-dose CT scans are three-dimensional X-rays of the chest, with low radiation that allows for more detail than the standard X-ray. These scans are used to detect earlier stages of lung cancer for those with no presenting symptoms. Lung cancer often doesn’t exhibit any noticeable symptoms until later stages when the cancer becomes more aggressive. 

Through this tool, more people who smoke are catching cancer early to allow them for better, more effective treatment options to become cancer free. 

“If you can catch lung cancer early, the chance of survival is greater and treatment is much easier,” said Tara Morris, Gibbs Cancer Center lung screening manager. 

Morris said the stigma tied to lung cancer often keeps people from pursuing a screening. 

“A lot of people feel guilty about lung cancer because they think, “Oh, I did this to myself,” but we’ve got to get past that,” she said. 

Low-dose CT scans are now offered at seven Spartanburg Regional locations by referral from a  primary care physician: 

• North Grove Medical Park on Highway 9 in Spartanburg   
• Pelham Medical Center's Medical Office Building on Highway 14 in Greer   
• Pelham Medical Offices at Five Forks in Simpsonville   
• Spartanburg Medical Center 
• Spartanburg Medical Center – Mary Black Campus   
• Cherokee Medical Center   
• Union Medical Center   

To qualify, you must be between the ages of 50-77 years old, have no current symptoms of lung cancer, either be a current or former smoker who has quit within the last 15 years and have at least a 20-pack year smoking history. 

**To calculate your pack year, take the average number of packs smoked per day and multiply that by the number of years smoked. So, if you smoked two packs per day for 15 years, you have a 30-pack year. 

The screening process for low-dose CT is non-invasive and takes less than five minutes to complete. 

All low-dose CT screenings are tied into smoking cessation efforts as well. Spartanburg Regional partners with the SC Quit Line, which is offered through the S.C. Department of Public Health. The SC Quit Line will call patients after a screening and encourage them to sign up for cessation classes and help them explore options and tools to help them quit smoking. 

If you qualify for a low-dose CT screening, speak to your primary care provider for a referral.