Mary Jordan is thankful for diagnostic screening—she owes her life to it.

Jordan, 71, moved to Jupiter following her career in the medical field, which included working as an ICU nurse in New York City. A former smoker who quit in 2015, Jordan focuses on her health and works out five days a week. She felt fine, and her pulmonary function was normal.

In 2023, Jordan was getting established with her new primary care physician, who urged her to get a computerized tomography (CT) scan of her lungs because of her smoking history. The scan revealed a suspicious marker in the upper right lobe of her lung, leading to a whole-body positron emission tomography (PET) scan which can uncover minute cancer cells.

Jordan was referred to Jupiter Medical Center’s Thoracic Surgery and Lung Center of Excellence for testing with Dr. Adam Lee, the center’s medical director, and Dr. Kevin Green, a board-certified lung specialist. Aided by diagnostic software called Optellum, which incorporates artificial intelligence (AI), the scans identified a tiny tumor in her right lung. Jordan underwent surgery to remove that lung. While the doctors could have removed the affected section because the rest of the lung appeared to be healthy, “it wasn’t worth leaving” due to the possibility that remaining, undetected, minute cancer cells could later metastasize.

“Had I not been offered this technology at Jupiter Medical Center, and if they hadn’t used the AI technology to detect cancer, I wouldn’t be in the position I’m in today. Instead, I had a simple test—a PET scan,” Jordan says with gratitude and relief. Following the right lung removal, she took about a month and a half to recover but did not require chemotherapy or radiation therapy. “It was pretty quick,” she reports.

Jordan can list relatives, friends, and former critically ill patients she cared for who have faced the complications of, and died from, undetected health issues that can be diagnosed with early screenings, before they become symptomatic. “We have mammograms, PAP smears for cervical cancer, and prostate checks,” she says. “I’m very proactive when it comes to my family. I support proactive, preventative health care.”

She says people need to consider their past lifestyle or environmental exposures and to always listen to warning signs, such as unexplained aches and pains. “The most important thing is to say, ‘I used to smoke’ or ‘I’ve got a little pain in my stomach, so maybe I need to go to the doctor,’” she says. “I hope people see my story and say, ‘Wow, that could be me.’”