Owensboro Health hosting 'Love Your Lungs' events
Owensboro Health will be holding a series of "Love Your Lungs" events in November to emphasize the importance of early detection of lung cancer, as well as to discuss the latest advancements in lung cancer screening.
The Owensboro event will be from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Nov. 7 at Owensboro Health Regional Hospital (Medical Office building entrance). The event will be from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Nov. 14 at Owensboro Health Muhlenberg Community Hospital.
This is the third year Owensboro Health has hosted the event at its facilities and the second year the Kentucky Cancer Program has partnered on the event.
The Kentucky Cancer Program is a statewide cancer prevention and control program affiliated with the University of Kentucky/Markey Cancer Center and the University of Louisville/Brown Cancer Center. KCP fosters engagement and collaboration with local organizations, providers and partners in planning, implementing and evaluating cancer prevention and control activities. Its mission is to reduce cancer incidence and mortality through education, research and service programs.
KCP purchased the 6-foot-tall inflatable lung display that is a central feature of each "Love Your Lungs" event. The inflatable lung demonstrates the effects of COVID-19, cancer, pneumonia and bronchitis on lung tissue.
"I feel like (the inflatable lung) brings awareness," said Ashley Shemwell, an OH nurse navigator in prevention services. "You come into the office and there are handouts with all of this information, but not everyone can read and comprehend, that's not how they learn, so I feel like this is another learning tool to help patients learn about their disease process. They can visually see it.
"If I've been told I have COPD, so that's what my lung looks like. So it's in real life. People who are visual learners, it's a great tool. I'm a visual learner, so to me, if you see it, it helps you understand your disease process, or that's why I want to quit smoking, because I don't want my lungs to look like that. It provides lots of different visual tools."
Lung cancer remains the most prevalent cancer in men and women in Kentucky.
OH will be showcasing its state-of-the-art Ion robotic bronchoscopy technology at some of the events, offering a close look at minimally invasive lung care that aids in early cancer detection.
"With our Ion, with lung cancer screenings you find these nodules at a smaller size," Shemwell said. "You want to find lung cancer at the earlier stages because you have a better chance of survival. With the robot, we're able to get to the smaller nodules that we were not able to get to before and get a good sample of that tissue and see exactly what that is.
"Before this robot, we typically could not biopsy and get a good sample unless about one centimeter. We are now able to biopsy millimeter spots. Our providers have been able get a diagnosis for cancer with an 8-millimeter nodule, which is unheard of. That's so important for patients to not only survive the cancer, but the cancer to be cured."
Shemwell said early detection is the key to saving lives, and it's paying dividends for OH patients.
"You do not have signs or symptoms of lung cancer until late-stage lung cancer, which is stage four," Shemwell said. "The five-year survival rate of stage four lung cancer is zero%. At stage one or two (when diagnosed), you have about a 82% to 92% chance of survival — so a huge number.
"Last year we were able to catch 21 stage one lung cancers just doing low-dose cat scans. So that's 21 people that we changed their life. We got them an early diagnosis, and we could get them treatment and possibly cure their cancer."
Event attendees will also be able interact with Owensboro Health's respiratory therapists, tobacco treatment specialists and various clinical experts. Additional offerings include oxygen screenings, radon testing kits, COPD information, a cancer screening checklist and valuable educational resources.
Booths from Owensboro Health departments — including Community Pharmacy, Preventive Services, Pulmonary Rehab and Mitchell Memorial Cancer Center — will be available to provide comprehensive lung health information.
"It's very important for patients to know what's going on in their body," Shemwell said. "I tell everyone that you're your own advocate, so you need to know about your disease and know what you can do to make it better. We also have smoking cessation information. We have a program through the Owensboro Health Foundation that provides the free nicotine replacement therapy for patients, so we can help decrease that barrier."
