The Taoyuan City Government today said its expanded lung cancer screening program has reached more than 400,000 people since it was launched in March 2023.
From its start to the end of February this year, the program has identified 233 instances of lung cancer, of which 90 percent were in the early stage, when the cancer is most treatable, Taoyuan Mayor Simon Chang (張善政) said.
The scheme targets Taoyuan residents aged 40 and older who have risk factors in four categories: tobacco exposure, relevant medical and family history, occupational exposure, and air pollution and cooking fumes exposure.
Photo courtesy of the Taoyuan City Government
As lung cancer has been one of the leading diseases in Taiwan in the past few years, Chang worked with 18 hospitals across the city to provide expanded low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) testing, Taoyuan Deputy Mayor Wang Ming-chu (王明鉅) said.
The Taoyuan City Government would continue to promote the program, increasing public awareness, and enabling early detection and treatment to help the Taoyuan citizens live long and healthy lives, Wang said.
The program received global attention for its use of LDCT to screen for lung cancer, cardiovascular disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, National Taiwan University College of Public Health professor Tony Chen (陳秀熙) said.
The program not only improves public health, but has saved NT$500 million (US$16.7 million) in healthcare costs, Chen said.
The local government collaborated across departments on the project, with the Department of Labor encouraging workers in industrial zones and industrial parks at high occupational risk to undergo screening.
It also used data analysis to identify areas with high diagnosis rates, enabling the Department of Environmental Protection to monitor air quality in the areas to reduce the risk of lung cancer.
The Taoyuan City Government said it would continue to develop the program using artificial intelligence and consult with medical experts to more accurately assess high-risk groups.
Moreover, the Department of Public Health would make LDCT more accessible using Taiwan's first privately funded mobile computed tomography unit.
The mobile unit would provide screenings to remote and coastal areas with limited medical resources, administrative districts without hospitals, high-risk occupational sites and indigenous cultural health stations.
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