ROCK ISLAND, Ill. (KWQC) – On a recent morning in a Quad Cities procedure room, a nurse leaned over Dave Tressel and teased, “Don’t bite me.”
“I ain’t going to bite you — I don’t have my dentures,” Dave shot back. “I’ll gum you!”
Everyone laughed. The levity helped, because the stakes felt heavy. Dave was there because a routine, low-dose CT scan had found a small spot in his lung.
Why this matters now
November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month, and UnityPoint Health is urging Quad Cities residents to talk with their doctors about early lung cancer screening. Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer deaths, but physicians say a simple yearly test can make all the difference when it comes to catching trouble early and improving outcomes.
Spotting problems before symptoms
UnityPoint lung specialists say low-dose CT scans can detect tiny lung nodules long before symptoms appear — exactly what happened in Dave’s case. “Lung cancer accounts for most of the cancer-related deaths in the country,” said Dr. Naveen Kanathur, a pulmonologist at UnityPoint Health. “By detecting [nodules] early and identifying them, and with our ability now to biopsy them safely, we can improve outcomes — improve patients’ lives.”
A robot with a lighter touch
When a suspicious spot needs a closer look, UnityPoint’s Ion robotic bronchoscopy system helps doctors navigate deeper into the lungs with greater precision — and fewer complications — than older methods. “The robotic bronchoscopy…that’s the state-of-the-art now,” Kanathur said. “It can biopsy the lung safely, with a complication rate of like 2% or so. Right now it’s at a point that it’s become the gold standard — the way to do the biopsy.”
For Dave, that precision mattered. He underwent a biopsy using the robotic system. While he did experience a rare complication — a collapsed lung — the team got him through it with skill and, as he remembers, humor. “No matter how bad it is, you’ve got to have a little humor,” he said.
A sigh of relief — and a message to others
Dave’s results came back: negative for cancer. “They said it wasn’t cancer. Now I know it ain’t cancer. You can enjoy life a little bit better,” he said. He urges others to get screened, including people with on-the-job exposures. “Welders, the carpenters — you know there’s dust and everything. I would suggest if your insurance pays for it and you can get into a program, it would be well worth the time.”
Closing the screening gap
UnityPoint says only about 20% of people eligible for lung cancer screening actually get checked. Doctors hope this month’s awareness push gets more people to start the conversation with their primary care provider.
Could you be eligible?
- Talk with your primary care doctor about a yearly low-dose CT scan for lung screening.
- Many insurance plans cover this screening.
- If you’re between 50 and 80 and have a significant smoking history, you may qualify for a low-dose CT lung screening with a referral.
The bottom line
A few minutes in a CT scanner could be the first step toward peace of mind — or an early intervention that changes everything. As Dave’s story shows, a simple scan can lead to timely answers. And sometimes, a little humor helps along the way.
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