Are You a Candidate for a Lung Scan?

Should you get a lung scan if you are not experiencing any symptoms? Screenings may be used to give tests to symptom-free people at high risk for lung cancer or lung disease. Screening with low-dose CT (LDCT) scans can reduce deaths in high-risk lung cancer patients when the cancer is caught early. Research has shown that using LDCT scans to screen people at higher risk of lung cancer saved more lives than chest x-rays.

Candidates for lung scans can include smokers or people who have quit smoking , and/or work or have worked in hazardous conditions that affect air quality for people between the ages of 50-80.

LDCT scans do, at times, find abnormalities that turn out not to be cancer. You may need to have additional scans or other procedures to find out exactly what the abnormality is. Discuss with your physician and or doctor what the next steps should be after finding an abnormality. Getting a scan while you are in good health is ideal for early detection.

Speak with your doctor to determine if a lung scan is a good recommendation for you. Ask questions and discuss any concerns with your doctor prior to your scan.

Our Houston MRI ® & Diagnostic Imaging mission is to provide the patients and physicians with affordable medical diagnostic imaging in a warm and patient-friendly environment. It is our goal to make the medical imaging procedure as pleasant as possible. Our communities promise "hospital quality imaging without the hospital costs" with efficient service to both our patients and physicians.