Originally published in YOUR Williamson —

Last spring, Lueshell Taylor was having trouble breathing, so she asked a friend to drive her to Williamson Medical Center’s ER.

“They did a CT scan and told me I had fluid on my right lung,” Taylor recalled. “They drained off 1.7 liters.”

That’s when Lueshell first crossed paths with Tufik Assad, M.D., and Laura Taylor, Williamson Health lung nodule navigator. After Dr. Assad, an interventional pulmonologist and critical care physician with Williamson Health, drained fluid off Lueshell’s lung a second time, further testing revealed cancer markers. Taylor, who walks alongside any patient whose scans indicate a lung abnormality from diagnosis through treatment and follow-up, began building an individualized diagnostic plan.

If you’re feeling chest discomfort or having trouble breathing, Dr. Assad recommends getting evaluated. This Lung Cancer Awareness Month, he wants you to be aware of lung cancer risk factors as well as screening and treatment options available via Williamson Health.

“Most people know that the No. 1 risk factor for lung cancer is smoking,” Dr. Assad said. “One of the other major causes that people may not think about is radon exposure.”

The best lung cancer screening option, Dr. Assad said, is a low-dose CT scan, the same test that helped diagnose Lueshell’s cancer. Another screening benefit is identifying other lung conditions doctors may not have been aware of otherwise.

“This is true for all cancers, but maybe most true for lung cancer: if we catch it early, lung cancer is much easier to treat,” Dr. Assad said.

The United States Preventive Services Task Force recommends annual screening with a low-dose CT scan for people at the highest risk of developing lung cancer. Many insurance providers cover lung screening as a preventive service for adults between the ages of 50-77 who also meet one of these two criteria:

• Current smokers who have a 20-pack-per-year or more smoking history, or

• Former smokers, who quit less than 15 years ago and used to smoke 20 packs per year or more

Most insurance plans that cover screenings due to radon exposure rely upon the approval of a series of other high-risk factors.

If a routine screening does reveal something abnormal, Dr. Assad, Devin Sherman, M.D., and the lung screening team at Williamson Health use advanced technologies such as endobronchial ultrasound and navigational bronchoscopy to diagnose the cause. In addition, Williamson Health’s lung nodule navigator is an integral part of patients’ support systems. 

“Our patients don’t feel like a number,” Dr. Assad said. “At Williamson Medical Center, we provide a level of compassion and service that is entirely unique.”

Lueshell, now focused on completing her treatment and healing, agrees. “I just felt like Williamson Health and Williamson Medical Center was where I needed to be,” she said. “My experiences there were awesome.”

To learn more about Williamson Health’s cancer screening options and care, click here. For an infographic on Lung Cancer, click here.