Lung cancer screening should be more common

North The designation of November as National Lung Cancer Awareness Month provides an appropriate opportunity to continue the national dialogue around the need for early detection and detection. Lung cancer is the second most common non-skin cancer in American men and women, after prostate cancer in men and breast cancer in women. As with most types of cancer, when lung cancer is caught early, patients have more options and a better prognosis.

“When it comes to lung cancer treatment, early diagnosis can be critical. Most lung cancers, at least 80 percent, are found when they are in an advanced stage. When lung cancer is diagnosed in stage IV, treatment is more difficult.” . — Bruce Gershenhorn, director of the CTCA Lung Cancer Center in Suburbs of Chicago

“If the disease is diagnosed early and the patient starts treatment early, there is a greater chance of survival,” adds Dr. Gerschenhorn.

How common is lung cancer?

About 14 percent of all new cancers are lung cancers, according to the American Cancer Society. Lung cancer largely affects older adults, with two in three diagnoses occurring in people 65 years of age or older. While heavy smokers have the highest risk of developing lung cancer, former smokers are also at high risk. Tobacco smoke and tobacco cause cancer because they contain thousands of chemicals that contain more than 60 known carcinogens.

Because lung cancer tumors develop within the chest cavity, they often have a chance to grow and spread before symptoms appear. For people at high risk of developing lung cancer, low doses of CT scans can detect cancer at an early stage. However, despite the availability of this potentially life-saving tool, the majority of current and former high-risk smokers are not screened for lung cancer, according to a study published earlier this year in a peer-reviewed publication. Gamma tumors . Researchers estimate that of the nearly 7 million current and former smokers eligible for screening in 2015, only 262,700 received it.

When should I be screened for lung cancer?

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, the American Cancer Society, the American Lung Association, and others recommend annual lung cancer screenings for current and former smokers. A CT scan can reveal small spots (also known as nodules) in the lungs years before they are seen on a chest X-ray. These small nodules can be signs of early lung cancer.

“Our view of lung cancer screening needs to evolve,” says Dr. Gershenhorn. “In the same way we do mammograms to look for breast cancer and colonoscopy to look for colon cancer, we should detect lung cancer with CT scans. An improved screening program will detect more lung cancers earlier.”

Find out why not let fear get in the way of your lung cancer screening.