Cancer Screening Program
Optima Diagnostic Imaging is a proponent of cancer screening and prevention. It has established a partnership with the Beverly Hills Cancer Center to offer patients a unique cancer screening and prevention program. These services and recommendations are specifically customized to each person based on their risk factors and special needs. Patients first schedule a consultation with one of our cancer specialists from the Beverly Hills Cancer Center for a physical examination and to assess the risk of developing cancer based on each individual's personal medical history, family and genetic history, and lifestyle habits (such as smoking, diet, and exercise). Then, each person is provided with a custom designed set of screening tests that may include imaging (CT scan, MRI, PET/CT scan, bone scan) laboratory tests, and other personalized recommendations (including lifestyle). All screenings and testing, including customized diagnostic imaging, if any, would be based on an assessment of the each person's risk factors in conjunction with recently published scientific research which provides specific recommendations for certain high risk individuals. Please call to schedule an appointment with one of our physicians to take charge of your health, or the health of your loved ones.
Optima Diagnostic Imaging offers a vast array of cancer screening and prevention services. These screenings can diagnose and even help prevent many types of cancer, especially when caught in earlier stages--which can save lives. Please see some abstracts from recently published articles below, discussing the importance and dramatic imapact of just some of the screening services offered at our center.
CT Scans for Smokers Could Lower Lung Cancer Deaths by 20 Percent
By Courtney Hutchinson, ABC News Medical Unit, June 29, 2011
Abstracted Article: Using CT scans to screen current and former smokers for lung cancer cuts the risk of death from the disease by 20 percent, according to a new study by the National Cancer Institute published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
If all current or former heavy smokers over 55 were screened, there could be as much as a 20 percent reduction in the number of people dying from lung cancer, according to the results of the NLST, published in the New England Journal of Medicine. These study results, first hinted at in a preliminary report released last November, offer the first solid evidence that screening high-risk patients using CT scans could reduce lung cancer deaths -- a finding that has at least 20 of the nation's major medical centers setting up CT lung screening programs of their own.
If caught earlier, 60 percent to 90 percent of lung cancers are curable, he says, making "a tool to diagnose lung cancer earlier ... a tremendous opportunity."
"Knowledge is power. Good, bad, or indifferent, the sooner I know the results, the better," said William Kennedy, a former smoker who jumped at the chance of getting screened when presented with the opportunity.
Reduced Lung-Cancer Mortality with Low-Dose Computed Tomographic Screening
New England Journal of Medicine, August 4, 2011
Abstracted Study: Using CT scans to screen current and former smokers for lung cancer cuts the risk of death from the disease by 20 percent, according to a new study by the National Cancer Institute published in the New England Journal of Medicine.