KERSHAW COUNTY, S.C. — A new resource to screen for lung cancer has arrived in Kershaw County as Atrium Health and The Community Medical Clinic of Kershaw County have partnered to bring the free mobile screening unit to the county.
"Trying to bring this service to our patients here in Kershaw County, we were wanting to expand our prevention for cancer as a whole," says CEO of the Community Medical Clinical Susan Witkowski.
"As a whole, in the 27 counties we serve, the smoking rates in those counties are high, way higher than the national average," said Atrium Health's Darcy Doege. "The thing about South Carolina is we have data there are more stage 4 lung cancer deaths in South Carolina than a lot of surrounding states, many of the other states."
For those wanting to take advantage of it, there are some qualifications.
"50-80 years of age, 20 pack-year smoking history, which breaks down to a pack a day for 20 years or more, and then either still smoking or quit within the last 15 years," Doege said. "So, we screen that population on the mobile unit but only if they are un-insured, under-insured Medicaid patients."
As of now, the plan is to come back once every three months, as they work on adding more sites and expanding the resource availability.
For those looking to take advantage of the mobile screening, contact Darcy Doege at darcy.dorge@atriumhealth.org or LCIoutreach@atriumhealth.org. You can also reach out to the Community Medical Clinic of Kershaw County by calling 803-713-0806.