The earlier cancer is detected, the easier it is to treat and the outcomes tend to be better. But if you have to drive an hour to access a low-dose CT scan, the tool most effective for finding lung cancer, that’s an additional barrier to getting diagnosed earlier.
To help address this problem, and to increase the number of people who get screened for lung cancer, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center introduced EDDY, or Early Detection Driven to You, a mobile cancer screening center that brings life-saving tests to regions that lack access to them. Now, after three years, more than 3,000 people have been able to receive a low-dose lung CT scan thanks to the mobile unit.
“Roswell always says, ‘spend one day with us,’ and with these mobile units, we’re able to go spend a day with you, in your community,” says Ally McNulty, a Director of Community Outreach and Engagement overseeing the EDDY lung cancer mobile CT unit. “We’re bringing it to places that people are comfortable, where we feel more approachable. You don’t have to walk into a hospital. There’s just so many benefits to taking (lung cancer screening) out of the main hospital."
In the past three years, EDDY has been to 52 different locations across Western New York, going as far as Binghamton, visiting 120 different zip codes in order to make screening more accessible.
Addressing the stigma of lung cancer
While Roswell Park last year launched a second vehicle to offer breast and prostate cancer screenings, EDDY was originally designed for lung cancer because there’s a stigma associated with the disease that doesn’t necessarily happen with other types of cancers, McNulty says. “People blame themselves, and so I want to do a lot of work to take the stigma out of it and remind people that even if you’re still smoking, you don’t have to quit, but you could still come get screened. We’re happy to help you quit if you want to quit, but you should still come get screened and not worry about blaming yourself if you do have a finding. Lung cancer is the number one cancer killer in our area…No one deserves to have lung cancer.”
EDDY has also been an important tool for first responders: Roswell Park has a partnership with the Buffalo Fire Department to offer screenings at fire stations across the city, making it easier for firefighters to get screened. They’re at higher risk for developing lung cancer due to the dangerous chemicals they’re exposed to during fires. “The standard in fire departments is an annual chest x-ray to look for anything that might be going on, but a low-dose CT scan is much better in terms of what we can see and treat from,” McNulty says.
A simple, streamlined screening process
A screening in EDDY takes less time than you might expect: “You walk up to the door, come talk to our physician’s assistant, that takes about three minutes, and then they fire up the scanner and get it ready to go,” says Luke Medina, a patient navigator with EDDY. “You lay down and it takes about a minute for you to go through,” and that’s it. When the results are in, someone will call the patient and explain the results of their scan and discuss next steps if cancer or something else concerning is found.
Like mammograms for breast cancer and the combination of a blood test and digital rectal exam for prostate cancer, lung cancer screening is something people might know they should do for their health, but it’s a scary proposition that can feel stressful. People might be inclined to skip these important appointments, and if a screening is hard to access because of transportation, cost or distance, it’s easier to make excuses not to get them done.
“I want to see that everybody that is eligible to be screened (is) screened,” says Nikia Clark Robinson, a Director of Community Outreach and Engagement whose work is closely tied with Buffalo’s Black and Hispanic communities. “I want EDDY to be a household name. When people think about EDDY, they think about easy access, not challenging (and) the process was actually enjoyable.”
