UVA Cancer Center partnership increases lung cancer screenings

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) - A new outreach program that includes UVA Health’s Cancer Center is helping to expand the number of lung cancer screenings.

This new program is called the Rural Appalachian Lung Cancer Screening Initiative. It’s a partnership between UVA Cancer Center, Appalachian Community Cancer Alliance and Buchanan General Hospital.

This will make it easier for people in rural Virginia and West Virginia to get access to these screenings.

“Only 7% of eligible residents in Virginia are getting screened. So the goal about increasing access to to less cancer screenings is vital for early detection and improvement of health,” said UVA Cancer Center navigation outreach specialist, Jessica Roark.

Roark says lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in America.

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