In the Moscow region, a free lung cancer screening program for smokers has been expanded

MOSCOW, September 24 - RIA Novosti. In the Moscow region, a project for free early detection of lung cancer in smokers has been expanded to the entire region, said Maxim Zabelin, Deputy Chairman of the Moscow Region Government and Regional Health Minister.

He noted that lung cancer can develop for a long time without significant symptoms, so it is especially important to detect it at an early stage, and smoking is one of the leading provoking factors.

“That’s why we have replicated the project to screen lung cancer in smokers throughout the Moscow region. Its goal is to identify the disease at an early stage, when there are no pronounced symptoms and the possibilities for effective treatment are much higher. It is planned that this year more than 12 thousand patients with a long history of smoking will be diagnosed,” Zabelin said, as quoted by the press service of the Ministry of Health of the Moscow Region.

Free screening is available to residents over 50 years of age who currently smoke or quit smoking no more than 15 years ago, and also have a smoking index of at least 30 “pack-years” - that is, they have smoked on average at least a pack of cigarettes per day for 30 years.

As the press service said, in order to undergo an examination, you first need to contact a therapist and fill out a questionnaire. The doctor will evaluate the smoking history and intensity and determine whether the patient meets the program criteria. If all conditions are met, the specialist will issue a referral for low-dose computed tomography and agree on the date and location of the study.

It is reported that diagnostics are carried out free of charge under the compulsory medical insurance policy, and you can make an appointment with a specialist through the “Denis” chatbot in the “Max” messenger, on the regional portal of State Services “Health”, by calling the hotline 122 or in the “Dobrodel Health” application.