The Butler Health System’s Lung Center is starting a new screening program that could greatly decrease lung cancer deaths.

The program, which began at the start of July, offers a low dose CT (LDCT) scan to certain patients who qualify.

Dr. George Davliakos, co-director of the lung center, said usually lung cancer is not found until it is in an advanced stage.

“People don’t know they have it until they have some serious side effects,” Davliakos said.

The program is a result of the National Lung Cancer Screening Trial, which found that a LDCT in higher risk patients discovered signs of lung cancer earlier and led to a lower mortality rate.

Currently, people who are diagnosed with lung cancer have a 15 percent to 20 percent chance of survival. With this screening, it’s more than 50 percent.

“So, it really makes a big difference,” Davliakos said. “Less people are dying due to finding the lung cancer early.”

In programs like this that have already been established, about 25 percent of the screenings have found nodules and 1 percent to 4 percent have found cancer.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States and in Butler County.

In the county, he said 1 in 12 to 1 in 15 people will get lung cancer. He said the rate of lung cancer deaths in the county is 50 people per 100,000 people. He said that the death rate for breast cancer in the county is 24 per 100,000, the rate for colon cancer is 15 per 100,000 and the rate for prostate cancer is 9 per 100,000.

The LDCT program is for patients who are deemed at a high risk for getting lung cancer.

“They have to meet the criteria,” Davliakos said.

Patients who qualify must be between 55 and 80 years old, have at least a 30 pack-year smoking history — a measurement of the number of packs a person smokes per day multiplied by the number of years a person has smoked — have smoked within the past 15 years and do not have any medical conditions that would cause problems with these tests.

Patients using home oxygen, who have a known history of lung cancer or who have metallic implants such as pacemakers or metal rods do not qualify.

To get in the program, patients need a prescription from their primary care provider. Davliakos said the center is working to get the word out about the program to providers.

Once a patient gets a prescription, he can call 877-247-2717 or 724-284-4000 to register for the screening.

If nodules or any other potential signs of cancer are found during the screening, it may be followed up with additional testing or removal of the nodules.

The patient then is recommended to get an annual screening until they no longer are considered high risk. Patients also will receive information on smoking cessation.

The cost of the screenings is covered by some insurance companies. But Davliakos said that starting in 2015, private insurance companies will be required to cover the screenings under the Affordable Care Act.