The Taipei Department of Health yesterday said it would offer free biennial low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) screening for lung cancer to 1,000 police officers and firefighters aged 40 or older.
Lung cancer has been the leading cause of death in Taiwan for several years, and it was the most common type of cancer last year, Health Promotion Administration (HPA) data showed.
Among the 10 most common cancers in Taiwan, lung cancer has the lowest five-year survival rates, National Taiwan University Hospital Cancer Center deputy superintendent Hsu Hsao-hsun (徐紹勛) said.
Photo: Chang Tsung-chiu, Taipei Times
The five-year survival rates of lung cancer from stages 1 to 4 are 88.7 percent, 52.8 percent, 26.7 percent and 9.1 percent respectively, he said, adding that early-stage lung cancer often has no symptoms, so it is often diagnosed at a later stage.
The earlier lung cancer is detected, the higher the chance it can be cured with proper treatment, Hsu said, adding that LDCT scans are capable of detecting pulmonary nodules of 1cm or smaller, allowing people to get treatment earlier.
Department Health Promotion Division Director-General Lin Hsueh-lan (林雪蘭) said that the HPA provides a free biennial LDCT scan to men aged 45 or older and women aged 40 or older who have a family history of lung cancer and are heavy smokers.
The city government also allocated NT$40 million (US$1.21 million) this year to provide free LDCT scans to police officers and firefighters working in the city, she said.
Risk factors are not limited to smoking, cooking fumes or family history, as air pollution and workplace exposure also increase risk, Lin said, adding that police officers and firefighters often work in high-risk environments that expose them to harmful gases.
The department said that 1,000 slots would be provided each year, and eligible recipients can book an appointment with five main branches of the Taipei City Hospital for the free LDCT scan with their National Health Insurance card and service badge.
China might accelerate its strategic actions toward Taiwan, the South China Sea and across the first island chain, after the US officially entered a military conflict with Iran, as Beijing would perceive Washington as incapable of fighting a two-front war, a military expert said yesterday. The US’ ongoing conflict with Iran is not merely an act of retaliation or a “delaying tactic,” but a strategic military campaign aimed at dismantling Tehran’s nuclear capabilities and reshaping the regional order in the Middle East, said National Defense University distinguished adjunct lecturer Holmes Liao (廖宏祥), former McDonnell Douglas Aerospace representative in Taiwan. If
Prosecutors in New Taipei City yesterday indicted 31 individuals affiliated with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) for allegedly forging thousands of signatures in recall campaigns targeting three Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers. The indictments stem from investigations launched earlier this year after DPP lawmakers Su Chiao-hui (蘇巧慧) and Lee Kuen-cheng (李坤城) filed criminal complaints accusing campaign organizers of submitting false signatures in recall petitions against them. According to the New Taipei District Prosecutors Office, a total of 2,566 forged recall proposal forms in the initial proposer petition were found during the probe. Among those
ECHOVIRUS 11: The rate of enterovirus infections in northern Taiwan increased last week, with a four-year-old girl developing acute flaccid paralysis, the CDC said Two imported cases of chikungunya fever were reported last week, raising the total this year to 13 cases — the most for the same period in 18 years, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. The two cases were a Taiwanese and a foreign national who both arrived from Indonesia, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Deputy Director Lee Chia-lin (李佳琳) said. The 13 cases reported this year are the most for the same period since chikungunya was added to the list of notifiable communicable diseases in October 2007, she said, adding that all the cases this year were imported, including 11 from
The Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant’s license has expired and it cannot simply be restarted, the Executive Yuan said today, ahead of national debates on the nuclear power referendum. The No. 2 reactor at the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung County was disconnected from the nation’s power grid and completely shut down on May 17, the day its license expired. The government would prioritize people’s safety and conduct necessary evaluations and checks if there is a need to extend the service life of the reactor, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) told a news conference. Lee said that the referendum would read: “Do
RSS