PADUCAH, KY (KFVS) - Western Baptist Hospital is now offering an endoscopic bronchial ultrasound that they say can provide precise lung cancer diagnosis without surgery.

Endobronchial ultrasound can assess a patient’s lymph nodes and determine if lung cancer has spread to other parts of the body.

Pulmonary medicine physician Keith Kelly, M.D., said patients with lung cancer may avoid more complicated surgery because this technique accurately shows the cancer stage.

“What this does is increase our ability to correctly diagnose and stage malignancies and other diseases involving the chest without having to resort to surgery to do it,” Dr. Kelly said.

PADUCAH, KY (KFVS) - The rehab center at Western Baptist helps patients recover from heart procedures by minimizing physical complications and improving functional capacity.

John Moore has been a regular at the Baptist Heart Center’s Cardiac Rehab Center since having quintuple heart bypass surgery. That was 90 pounds and nearly five years ago.

“It’s wonderful,” said Moore, 67, of Paducah. “It’s just like a second family. These nurses are great. They have been really good to me.”

Moore is part of a group that exercises in the morning on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Other groups work out on alternate days or in the afternoon. Although some heart patients only come for the usual prescribed length of 12 weeks, some have been coming for years, sharing a camaraderie that began with mutual health concerns.

“The most important part of it for me is the social aspect,” said Rey Shrewsberry, 82, of Paducah. “You miss it if you don’t come.”

PADUCAH, KY (KFVS) - The Kentucky Employees' Health Plan and HumanaVitality will be hosting the Living Well 2012: HumanaVitality Kick-Off and Bus Tour on Monday, Feb. 27.

The tour will offer educational materials about HumanVitality, biometric screenings, officials from local health departments, interactive wellness activities and much more.

It will be from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the McCracken County Public Schools central office campus, 435 Berger Road in Paducah.

Copyright 2012 KFVS. All rights reserved.