Lung Cancer Screening Saves Lives

Most people don’t get potentially life-saving lung cancer tests, but if you smoke you may be eligible for a free screening. Here’s what you should know.

Do you smoke? You may be eligible for a free lung cancer screen.

The federally appointed U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends nearly doubling the number of Americans who should be screened for lung cancer, saying more testing would especially benefit black people and women.

Yearly low-dose computed tomography (CT) scans should start for long-time smokers by age 50, five years earlier than the previous recommendation in 2013.

There’s a down side to screening. The test can produce false positives and cause worry and unneeded follow-up procedures, some point out. You may discover a cancer that would not have progressed and become dangerous. You can’t know for sure if the care you receive is necessary.

The case for screening is simple: The five-year survival rate for lung cancer is only 20 percent (meaning 80 percent of patients die in that time), and catching a growth early makes a difference.

But less than 5 percent of eligible Americans are getting these screens.

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Who is eligible for free lung cancer screens?

You’re eligible for a free screening if you’ve smoked a pack of cigarettes a day for 20 years (or did so and then quit within the past 15 years) and are between the ages of 50 and 80. You need to be in good enough health to benefit from lung cancer treatment, if a cancer is found.

What happens during a lung cancer screen?

A lung cancer screening looks for nodules in your lungs. A radiologist needs to examine the result and decide if the nodule could be dangerous. Some 80 percent of nodules aren’t problematic; they are common and usually non-cancerous. But if yours might be, the radiologist might recommend a follow-up CT in a few months.

In some cases, you may need a lung biopsy, in which a piece of lung tissue is removed with a needle or during surgery. On rare occasions, a biopsy can have serious complications, including air becoming trapped in your lung and bleeding and infection in your lung.

A lung cancer CT can help you even if it doesn’t find cancer, if it catches other problems, including emphysema, coronary artery calcification, and even an aortic aneurysm. Make sure that the place where you do your screening has specialists to interpret the results and give you follow-up care. You may need to travel to find the right place.

But wouldn’t I have symptoms if I had lung cancer?

Not soon enough. Symptoms of lung cancer usually don't appear until the cancer is far along. It’s also easy to think your symptoms have a different cause.

If I have screenings is it safe to keep smoking?

Smoking is never safe. Screenings will not find all lung cancers, and sometimes it will find cancers too late to save your life.

Who is at most risk of lung cancer?

Smoking and increasing age are the most important risk factors for lung cancer. Blacks are at higher risk of lung cancer than white men even if they smoke less. Some nonsmokers also develop the disease; non-smokers who have lung cancer are nearly twice as likely to be women than men.

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