Salem Health lung cancer screenings help patients find cancer sooner
More than 1,700 patients went through lung cancer screenings at Salem Hospital and West Valley Hospital in 2025.
Of those diagnosed with lung cancer, a remarkable 76% were still in stage one, thanks to the screenings.
Stage one is an early stage of cancer, meaning it has not spread to other parts of the body.
“Prior to screenings, we didn’t have a way to increase the number of patients diagnosed with early disease, which is where we can make a difference in outcomes,” said Director of Thoracic Surgery Brandon Tieu, MD. “If we waited until patients developed symptoms associated with lung cancer, they would present with locally advanced or metastatic disease.”
One patient’s success story
Margaret Geer is now in remission after her screening alerted her to stage one lung cancer in 2021.
“I wasn’t feeling ill,” she said. “I didn’t have any reason outside of being a fairly heavy smoker to believe that I had lung cancer, but I figured it was an opportunity to be proactive.”
She got the screening that August, and the radiology report came back two days later.
“Based on that first CT scan, they found a nine-millimeter nodule in the upper right lobe of my lung,” Geer said. “In the overall scheme, it was on the small side, but notable.”
A follow-up scan that fall showed the nodule was growing, and Geer was referred to Salem Hospital’s Dr. Tieu.
“What a relief to go into that office,” Geer said. “Dr. Tieu is amazing. He’s so relatable, friendly, down to earth. We were talking about not good things in terms of my health, and I was scared, of course, but he was just so straightforward and factual, and he gave me a choice of how to proceed.”
Dr. Tieu recommended a lobectomy. Geer agreed, and it took place in March 2022.
“I was an older patient, a smoker, not in the greatest shape,” she said. “Salem Hospital staff took excellent care of me and didn’t discharge me until I felt comfortable going home.”
Geer continued to get follow-up CT scans and meet with Dr. Tieu.
“The outcome is I am cancer-free four years later,” she said.
Improving outcomes through early intervention
Patients who are 50 to 80 years of age and have smoked the equivalent of 20 pack years (one pack per day for 20 years) are eligible for lung cancer screening. Active smokers or former smokers who quit within the last 15 years also qualify for screening. This is a simple CT scan of the chest that is done annually and covered by insurance like other screening exams.
Dr. Tieu said these screenings are an integral part of lung cancer management.
“Lung cancer is the second most common diagnosed cancer in men and women in the United States and the number one cancer-related cause of death in the US,” Dr. Tieu said. “Individuals with a significant smoking history are at the highest risk of developing lung cancer.”
Geer has now quit smoking. She urges other smokers to consider smoking cessation and get screened.
“If it’s available, why wouldn’t you?” she said. “Don’t let fear hold you back from a better quality of life.”