News

May 27, 2021

New Technology Available at Trumbull Regional Medical Center to Detect Lung Cancer in Early Stages

Veran Lung Navigation System

In the U.S., more people die of lung cancer than any other cancer combined. Most often, symptoms of lung cancer are not present until the cancer has spread and progressed to an advanced stage. That is why prevention and screening are so important in the fight against lung cancer.

Trumbull Regional Medical Center has partnered with Veran to provide advanced, state-of-the-art technology with the SPiN Thoracic Navigation System, offering patients improved diagnosis and treatment over traditional methods. The SPiN Thoracic Navigation System is used during lung procedures, should a suspect nodule be identified during the lung screening. This novel technology uses electromagnetic navigation (EMN), which is like the GPS in your car, to guide doctors to even the smallest, hard to access nodules resulting in earlier lung cancer detection. The system is minimally invasive and enables doctors to reach and biopsy small suspect nodules anywhere in the lungs. This speeds time to diagnosis, without the need for multiple procedures, so lifesaving treatment doesn’t have to wait.

“This innovative technology is essentially a GPS system for the lungs to help guide physicians to even the smallest nodules” said Manuel Bautista, MD, FCCP, Pulmonary and Critical Care Physician at Trumbull Regional Medical Center. “This allows us to detect lung cancer early on when it is most treatable and beatable leading to a better outcome” said Dr. Bautista.

Current or past smokers are at high-risk for developing lung cancer. Other risk factors include secondhand smoke, exposure to radon, asbestos or other substances, living in areas with high air pollution and family history. Though anyone with a smoking history may be a candidate for the lung cancer screening, a person between the ages of 50 and 80 who currently smokes or has smoked in the past and quit within the last 15 years, has a 20 pack year history and is symptom-free would be considered high-risk and may be recommended for annual lung cancer screening.

Trumbull Regional Medical Center offers the Lung Cancer Screening Program at two convenient locations in Warren and Cortland. A lung cancer screening is done with a low-dose CT scan which can identify small nodules or other abnormalities in the lungs. Patients lie still on a table which is moved through the scanner and the x-ray machine rotates around taking pictures from many different angles. The screening takes about 10 minutes and no medications, injections or fasting are needed.

Speak with your primary care doctor to find out if you are a candidate for the lung cancer screening. For more information or to schedule a screening, call 330-841-1962.

Screening Locations:

Steward Health Center, Elm Road
A Department of Trumbull Regional Medical Center

2586 Elm Road NE, Building B
Cortland, OH 44410

Trumbull Regional Medical Center
1350 E. Market Street
Warren, OH 44482

Phone: 330-841-1962