Potential complications of Lung Cancer Screening: Inconvenience
The first step in getting a screening CT scan is to get a prescription from your healthcare primary provider (doctor, nurse practitioner or physician assistant). Medicare requires that you review a decision aid document or other media and then discuss potential benefits and risks of screening with your caregiver, before approval can be given to proceed with the test.
Most people who are at increased risk of lung cancer and wish to participate in a lung cancer CT-screening program live near a center of excellence.
A national list of centers of excellence in CT screening can be obtained from the websites of the American College of Radiology and the Lung Cancer Alliance.
Individuals who live in rural areas, particularly in Western states, may live far from the closest screening center. These people will experience inconvenient travel to distant centers to obtain screening.
At the current time, due to the COVID pandemic, radiology centers are experiencing delays that may make it difficult for persons to obtain a prompt appointment to be screened by CT scan.
Potential Complications of Lung Cancer Screening: Discomfort