ISGCSC offers education on cancer screening, referral orders for radiologic screening tests,
and second opinions for cancer diagnosis and management.
Breast Cancer Screening
What is breast cancer?
Breast cancer happens when normal cells in the breast change and grow out of control.
People sometimes discover that they have breast cancer because they find a lump in their
breast. Other times, cancer is found during a routine screening test before a lump can
be felt. Breast cancer is much more common in females and sometimes runs in families.
If you feel a lump in your breast, you will need to see the doctor right away. Breast
lumps can be caused by conditions that are not cancer. But you should have any lumps
checked out.
Is there a screening test for breast cancer?
Yes, Doctors use a special kind of X-ray called a "mammogram" to check for breast cancer.
If a mammogram finds a spot that looks like it could be cancer, doctors usually follow
up with other imaging tests. These might include an ultrasound or MRI scan.
In some cases, another test called a "biopsy" will be done. During a biopsy, a doctor
takes small samples of tissue from the breast. Then, they look at the cells under a
microscope to check for cancer.
Screening Tests for breast cancer based on-risk:
Screening is of greatest value for those patients most likely to develop breast cancer
and for whom early treatment is more effective than later treatment in reducing
mortality. Early detection means finding and
diagnosing a disease earlier than if you’d waited for symptoms to start. Screening
strategies differ based on the estimated risk of breast cancer. The
majority of women are at average risk (less than 15 percent lifetime risk) of developing
breast cancer. For screening purposes, a woman is considered to be at average risk if
she doesn’t have a personal history of breast cancer, a strong family history of
breast cancer, or a genetic mutation known to increase risk of breast cancer (such as in
a BRCAgene), and has not had chest radiation therapy before the age of 30.
According to American Cancer Society (https://www.cancer.org), screening approach
for average-risk women:
Women between 40 - 44: option to start screening with a mammogram
annually
Women 45 to 54 should get mammograms annually.
Women 55 and older can switch to a mammogram every other year, or
they can choose to continue yearly mammograms. Screening should continue if a woman is
in good health and is expected to live at least 10 more years.
Clinical breast exams are not recommended at any age.
One of the breast cancer screening services provided by ISG CSC is to offer referrals for
mammogram to the community. ISGCSC has partnered with Adventist Imaging and developed a
screening program in this area for average risk women based on age.
Lung Cancer screening
Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer mortality
worldwide for both men and women. Most patients are symptomatic at presentation,
although screening for lung cancer has been shown to save lives by detecting lung cancer
in asymptomatic individuals at high risk.
Most lung cancer is attributed to smoking, including lung
cancer in nonsmokers in whom a significant proportion of cancer is attributed to
environmental smoke exposure. Cigarette smoking is thought to be causal in 85 to 90
percent of all lung cancer.
Patients who currently smoke or have a history of smoking
are at higher risk for lung cancer. The American
Cancer Society recommends yearly lung cancer screening with a low-dose CT scan
(LDCT) for some of these people. They include:
- Are 50 to
80 years old and in good health, and
- Currently
smoke or have quit in the past 15 years,
and
- Have at
least a 20 pack-year smoking history. (This is the number of packs of cigarettes
per day multiplied by the number of years smoked. For example, someone who
smoked 2 packs a day for 10 years [2 x 10 = 20] has 20 pack-years of smoking, as
does a person who smoked 1 pack a day for 20 years [1 x 20 = 20].)
Colorectal Cancer Screening
Colorectal cancer refers to cancer in the colon or the
rectum. These cancers can also be called colon cancer or rectal cancer, depending on
where they start. Most colorectal cancers start as a growth on the inner lining of
the colon or rectum. These growths are called polyps.
The American Cancer Society’s estimates for the
number of colorectal cancers in the United States for 2023 are:
- 106,970 new cases of colon cancer
- 46,050 new cases of rectal cancer
Overall, the lifetime risk of developing colorectal
cancer is about 1 in 23 for men and 1 in 26 for women. There's no way to completely
prevent cancer. But there are things you can do that might help lower your risk.
Screening is the process of looking for cancer or pre-cancer in people who have no
symptoms of the disease. Regular colorectal cancer screening is one of the most
powerful tools against colorectal cancer.
Why is colorectal cancer screening important?
When colorectal cancer is found at an early stage before
it has spread, the 5-year relative survival rate is about 90%. But only about 4 out
of 10 colorectal cancers are found at this early stage. When cancer has spread
outside the colon or rectum, survival rates are lower.
According to the American Cancer Society (ACS),
several test options are available for colorectal
cancer screening. The ACS recommends that
people at average risk of colorectal cancer start regular
screening at age 45. People who are in good health and with a life expectancy
of more than 10 years should continue regular colorectal cancer screening through
the age of 75.
People over 85 should no longer get colorectal cancer
screening.
This can be done either with a sensitive test that looks
for signs of cancer in a person’s stool (a stool-based test). One such approved stool-based tests includes the highly
sensitive guaiac-based fecal occult blood test (gFOBT) done every year. Studies have shown that screening with gFOBT reduces
CRC-related mortality.
Keep in mind if a person chooses to be
screened with a test other than colonoscopy, any abnormal test result should be
followed up with a colonoscopy.
One of the colorectal screening services provided by ISG
CSC is the stool based fecal occult blood test which can be collected at home.
Nurses at the clinic will provide special instructions on how to collect stool for
this test which be processed at ISGCSC laboratory. Any positive result will require
referral for a colonoscopy, either through a primary care or through colorectal
cancer screening programs offered by the Montgomery County Department of Health and
Human Services.
Download
CPEST Program Application
Adventist HealthCare Imaging
ISGCSC has made discounted special priced
with Adventist HealthCare Imaging for its uninsured patients. Adventist
HealthCare Imaging will also take insured individuals. Our physicians will provide
imaging orders to patients. When you take this request to any Adventist
imaging center, you will be charged with the discounted/specialty prices offered to
ISGCSC for your test. Patients with insurance may be responsible for co-pays
associated a radiology tests. Patient will be responsible to determine if their
insurance is accepted by Adventist. Insurance based claims will not be handled
by ISGCSC, but will be processed by Adventist Imaging.
Adventist
Imaging offers many cancer screening imaging tests including diagnostic, screening,
and 3-D mammograms, low dose (screening) computed tomography (CT or
“CAT”) scans, breast ultrasound, and MRI of the breast and more. They
operate in outpatient locations throughout Montgomery County
Stool Lab Services
ISGCSC has a licensed laboratory which will be limited to processing stool-based tests
for colorectal cancer. This will be of free of cost. There will be no blood based
clinical or research tests offered in the clinic. Our physicians will provide orders for
a take-home fecal occult blood test (FOBT) which will be collected on stool at home.
When a patient check-out, a nurse will provide FOBT (3-day) home collection kits and
provide instructions for preparation and collection.
