Thomas Wishart encourages his fellow Veterans to prioritize lung cancer screening.<\/p>\n
Wishart\u2019s journey in the Navy began in 1970 when he served with the P3 Squadron as a mechanic and hydraulics specialist in California. Several years later, he transitioned to the F-14 Tomcat program in Virginia Beach, splitting his time between land and the USS John F. Kennedy aircraft carrier.<\/p>\n
After leaving active duty, Wishart settled in Columbia, South Carolina, where he made regular visits to the William Jennings Bryan Dorn VA Medical Center<\/a> for annual physicals. In fall 2023, during one of these check-ups, Wishart\u2019s primary care provider referred him to nurse practitioner Theresa Chandler for a lung cancer screening consult.<\/p>\n Given Wishart\u2019s age and history of smoking, Chandler recommended a low-dose CT scan, a decision that would ultimately save his life.<\/p>\n Wishart\u2019s CT scan revealed a small suspicious mass later confirmed as stage 1 lung cancer<\/a>, an early-stage where the tumor hasn\u2019t spread to the lymph nodes or other parts of the body. Wishart was promptly referred for a robotic-assisted lung procedure, a minimally invasive alternative to traditional surgery for lung cancer.<\/p>\n The surgery was successful, with all follow-up biopsies and tissue samples returning negative results. Wishart continues to be monitored every six months for any signs of recurrence and will begin a physical therapy program in the fall to help improve his mobility.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m beyond grateful for VA\u2019s commitment to diligent lung cancer screening. Had I not taken that step, I can\u2019t imagine where I would be today,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Wishart is one of over 8,000 Veterans diagnosed with lung cancer every year, a staggering reminder of the disease\u2019s prevalence. VA\u2019s emphasis on early detection is changing lives by providing every eligible Veteran with systematic, integrated and equitable access to high-quality lung cancer screening. With early detection, the survival rate for this type of cancer is high.<\/p>\n As a cancer survivor, Wishart encourages his fellow Veterans to prioritize lung cancer screening. \u201cEarly detection increases the chances of successful treatment and saves lives. Don\u2019t wait to get screened. Just do it,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month and VA is proud to join in the third annual National Lung Cancer Screening (LCS) Day<\/a> to raise awareness about this essential preventive measure.\u00a0<\/p>\n More than 125 VA facilities nationwide will engage in lung cancer screening awareness outreach efforts Nov. 12 to 15.<\/p>\nLung cancer screening and early detection<\/h2>\n
Lung cancer screenings<\/h2>\n
![<\/a>Thomas Wishart<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nWishart\u2019s journey in the Navy began in 1970 when he served with the P3 Squadron as a mechanic and hydraulics specialist in California. Several years later, he transitioned to the F-14 Tomcat program in Virginia Beach, splitting his time between land and the USS John F. Kennedy aircraft carrier.<\/p>\nAfter leaving active duty, Wishart settled in Columbia, South Carolina, where he made regular visits to the William Jennings Bryan Dorn VA Medical Center<\/a> for annual physicals. In fall 2023, during one of these check-ups, Wishart\u2019s primary care provider referred him to nurse practitioner Theresa Chandler for a lung cancer screening consult.<\/p>\nGiven Wishart\u2019s age and history of smoking, Chandler recommended a low-dose CT scan, a decision that would ultimately save his life.<\/p>\nLung cancer screening and early detection<\/h2>\nWishart\u2019s CT scan revealed a small suspicious mass later confirmed as stage 1 lung cancer<\/a>, an early-stage where the tumor hasn\u2019t spread to the lymph nodes or other parts of the body. Wishart was promptly referred for a robotic-assisted lung procedure, a minimally invasive alternative to traditional surgery for lung cancer.<\/p>\nThe surgery was successful, with all follow-up biopsies and tissue samples returning negative results. Wishart continues to be monitored every six months for any signs of recurrence and will begin a physical therapy program in the fall to help improve his mobility.<\/p>\n\u201cI\u2019m beyond grateful for VA\u2019s commitment to diligent lung cancer screening. Had I not taken that step, I can\u2019t imagine where I would be today,\u201d he said.<\/p>\nWishart is one of over 8,000 Veterans diagnosed with lung cancer every year, a staggering reminder of the disease\u2019s prevalence. VA\u2019s emphasis on early detection is changing lives by providing every eligible Veteran with systematic, integrated and equitable access to high-quality lung cancer screening. With early detection, the survival rate for this type of cancer is high.<\/p>\nAs a cancer survivor, Wishart encourages his fellow Veterans to prioritize lung cancer screening. \u201cEarly detection increases the chances of successful treatment and saves lives. Don\u2019t wait to get screened. Just do it,\u201d he added.<\/p>\nLung cancer screenings<\/h2>\nNovember is Lung Cancer Awareness Month and VA is proud to join in the third annual National Lung Cancer Screening (LCS) Day<\/a> to raise awareness about this essential preventive measure.\u00a0<\/p>\nMore than 125 VA facilities nationwide will engage in lung cancer screening awareness outreach efforts Nov. 12 to 15.<\/p>\nIf you are a Veteran between 50-80 years old and are a current or former smoker, contact your local VA health care provider to find out if lung cancer screening is right for you or visit My HealtheVet.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Thomas Wishart encourages his fellow Veterans to prioritize lung cancer screening. Thomas Wishart Wishart\u2019s journey in the Navy began in 1970 when he served with the P3 Squadron as a mechanic and hydraulics specialist in California. Several years later, he transitioned to the F-14 Tomcat program in Virginia Beach, splitting his time between land and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":318400,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,580,1269],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-318398","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","category-lung-cancer","category-visn-7"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/318398","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=318398"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/318398\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":318401,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/318398\/revisions\/318401"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/318400"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=318398"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=318398"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=318398"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}](\"https:\/\/news.va.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2024\/11\/Thomas_r1.jpg\"){kind=link}