Islara Souto, who quit smoking 20 years ago, credits the Lung Cancer Screening Program at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center for detecting a small nodule on her lung that led to early treatment. “I smoked since I was, I believe, 18. After 20 years of screening, they found something,” Islara said.
Dr. Nestor Villamizar, a thoracic surgeon at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, emphasized the importance of early detection in lung cancer cases. “Patients who are older than 50 years old and have a history of smoking are eligible for a low-dose chest CT scan every year. And that’s the way that we can detect cancer early and potentially cure it,” Dr. Villamizar stated.
The screening program is designed to closely monitor patients considered at risk for lung cancer. If any suspicious findings arise during annual scans, immediate treatment can be initiated to improve outcomes. For early-stage cases like Islara’s, minimally invasive robotic surgery is preferred when possible. “For early-stage lung cancer, our preference is for minimally invasive robotic surgery with sparing the majority of the lung. She was eligible for this segmentectomy,” Dr. Villamizar explained.
Dr. Villamizar also stressed that participation in the screening program requires ongoing monitoring rather than a single test: “It is important to know that when a patient is enrolled in lung cancer screening, it is not just a one-time X-ray,” he said. “These patients should get screened at least once a year to monitor how their lung health changes over time.”
After three years free from cancer following her treatment, Islara encourages others who may be at risk not to let stigma prevent them from seeking help: “You could have been a former smoker 20, 30 years ago, but you’re still in danger, you’re still at risk. And so, I tried to promote this lung cancer screening and overcome that stigma, don’t be embarrassed because you were a smoker,” she said.
“I want to make everybody aware, reduce that stigma and just get screened,” Islara added.
