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Lung Cancer Warrior: survivor spreads awareness about a life-saving tool

Doctors at Cone Health say on average, only six percent of people who qualify in the United States get their lung cancer screening done.

HIGH POINT, N.C. — November is National Lung Cancer Awareness Month. The disease is the leading cause of cancer death in the United States. A High-Point woman is on a mission to spread awareness about a tool that could save others from this potentially life-threatening diagnosis.

Supporting lung cancer patients is one of Dusty Donaldson's biggest passions. She enjoys making care packages she calls "Hope Totes" for patients in Triad-area hospitals.

"We've got a notebook, it's great for writing questions that you want to ask the doctor or for instructions the doctor might give you, things like that,” Donaldson said.

Her desire to help lung cancer patients came after she was diagnosed in 2005. She said she soon realized the stigma associated with the disease after a conversation with a coworker.

“The first thing he asked, my college was, 'Oh did you smoke,’” Donaldson said. “ In fact, I do have a history of smoking, but I had quit 20-something years before my diagnosis and it just seemed at best rude that he would say that to me when I got a potentially life-threatening diagnosis."

Donaldson is now 17 years cancer free. In 2010 she founded the Dusty Joy Foundation which is a nonprofit that raises awareness about lung cancer. One of her biggest priorities is informing the public about lung cancer screenings.

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Dr. Bradley Icard and Nurse Practitioner Sarah Groce work in pulmonary care at Cone Health. They said the hospital provides low-dose CT screenings for those who qualify.

“Only six percent on average in the United States get their screening done, “Dr. Icard said. “In North Carolina, we're at about eight percent, so we're just above the national average."

Groce said the process is quite simple.

“You lay on our back, you put your arms over your head, you take a deep breath and hold it in for ten seconds,” Groce said. “You're in and out of the scanner in five to ten minutes. No injection, no IV. It is quick, it is easy; it is very impactful.”

The ease is something Donaldson hopes more people take advantage of.

“Lung cancer screenings, it is the deadliest kept secret,” Donaldson said. “Rather than finger-wagging or shaming somebody who has a history of smoking, it would be so much better if you just share information in love about lung cancer screening."

Lung cancer screenings are covered by insurance for current smokers ages 50 to 80 years old and those who quit smoking within the last 15 years.  

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