Baptist Health Paducah Earns ACR Lung Cancer Screening Center Designation

(PADUCAH, KY) March 20, 2025 — Baptist Health Paducah has been re-designated a Lung Cancer Screening Center by the American College of Radiology® (ACR®). This distinction reaffirms our commitment to providing community members with access to advanced cancer screening facilities that offer innovative procedures and care. 

Lung cancer is the nation’s leading cancer killer – taking the lives of more people each year than breast, colon and prostate cancers combined. There are no symptoms in the early and most curable stages of the disease. With early detection and prompt surgical treatment, the cure rate is 92 percent.

In March 2021, the United States Preventive Services Task Force recommended screening of adults aged 50 to 80 years who have a 20 pack-year smoking history and currently smoke or have quit within the past 15 years.

Kentucky’s lung cancer rate is the nation’s highest, but the state is also second in the U.S. for screening residents. Low-dose CT scans can reduce the lung cancer death rate by up to 20%.

At Baptist Health Paducah in 2016, stage 1 lung cancer diagnosis rates, which is the most treatable stage, were at a low 21%. Data now suggests between 2016 to 2024, detection of stage 1 cancers have risen to 38%, while stage IV’s, more advanced and harder to treat stage, have dropped from 48% percent in 2016 to 31% in 2024.

“This is evidence that our lung screening efforts are paying off,” said Mike Tutor, Executive Director, Oncology and Imaging Services at Baptist Health Paducah. “We still have a long way to go, but thanks to the push for educating the public and our patients about lung screenings, we are certainly catching people sooner.”

The ACR Lung Cancer Screening Center designation is a voluntary program that recognizes facilities that have committed to practicing safe, effective diagnostic care for individuals at the highest risk for lung cancer.

To receive this elite distinction, facilities must be accredited by the ACR in computed tomography in the chest module, as well as undergo a rigorous assessment of its lung cancer screening protocol and infrastructure. Also required are procedures in place for follow-up patient care, such as counseling and smoking cessation programs.

For more information about the Lung Cancer Screening Center designation, visit ACR.org.