Douglas Flora: How 50,000 screenings are transforming lung cancer care
Douglas Flora, Executive Medical Director of Oncology Services at St. Elizabeth Healthcare and ACCC President-Elect, shared a post on LinkedIn:
“The Starfish Effect: How 50,000 Screenings Are Transforming Lung Cancer Care
You’ve likely heard the starfish story – a child walking along a beach covered with stranded starfish, methodically tossing them back into the ocean. When told, ‘You can’t possibly make a difference,’ the child simply replies, ‘It made a difference to that one.’
Here is how we made a difference. Today, we’ve reached our 50,000th lung cancer screening. We are changing the narrative around lung cancer in our communities.
Within this milestone lies an even more remarkable achievement: over 500 patients diagnosed at Stage I when lung cancer is most treatable.
Most of these individuals will live full lives – not because of miraculous new treatments, but because a dedicated team showed up day after day, rowing together in perfect rhythm, refusing to accept late-stage diagnosis as the inevitable norm.
Nearly 70% of our screened patients are now found in early stages rather than late. Perhaps even more encouraging, we’re seeing the rate of Stage IV diagnoses declining precipitously.
This achievement belongs to every member of our team – from the navigators who guide patients through the screening process and ensure they return annually, to the technologists who perform the scans, to the radiologists who interpret them, and the entire support staff who ensure the program runs seamlessly. Each person plays a vital role in this life-saving work.
The evidence is clear: screening works. Early detection works. And when implemented with passion, precision, and persistence by teams who truly care, these programs save lives.
This milestone represents thousands of hours of collaborative work – countless early mornings, late evenings, and moments of both challenge and triumph. It represents a team that understood the stakes and chose to meet them with unwavering commitment.
Our program works because each team member recognizes that behind every scan is a person with hopes, fears, and loved ones counting on them. Each team member approaches their role with both technical excellence and profound compassion, understanding that this combination is what truly transforms care.
This screening program is the most meaningful project I’ve ever been involved with. Not because of impressive statistics, but because of the individual lives touched and transformed through the power of a team united in purpose.
One scan at a time. One patient at a time. One life at a time.”
More posts featuring Douglas Flora.
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Challenging the Status Quo in Colorectal Cancer 2024
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ESMO 2024 Congress
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ASCO Annual Meeting
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Yvonne Award 2024
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OncoThon 2024, Online
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Global Summit on War & Cancer 2023, Online
Dec. 14-16, 2023