Mellisa Wheeler, director of Disparities at the Levine Cancer Institute, discusses how her team came to recognize the need for a mobile lung cancer screening unit.
About two years ago, Wheeler noticed that there was an alarming number of people being diagnosed and starting treatment with late-stage cancer. In fact, Wheeler noted that about 69 percent of patients with lung cancer initially coming into the Levine Cancer Institute were diagnosed at stage 3 or higher.
After seeing success with a mobile mammogram program to reach vulnerable populations, Wheeler implemented a mobile lung cancer screening unit, too, that includes a CT scan. She discussed the unit during the 2017 Annual Meeting of the Association of Community Cancer Centers.
