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Lung Cancer Screening

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Cigarettes have more than 50 chemicals that are known to cause cancer. In fact, lung cancer is the leading cause of can­cer deaths in both men and women in the United States and worldwide. 

In the U.S., lung cancer is responsible for 29 percent of cancer deaths – more than those from breast cancer, colon cancer, and prostate cancer combined. Statistically, lung cancer caused by smoking is re­sponsible for nearly 135,000 U.S. deaths per year.

graphic of lungs

Early Detection Saves Lives

Yearly lung screening with low-dose computerized tomography (LDCT) has been shown to save lives by finding lung cancer early, when it is easiest to treat. Without LDCT lung screen­ing, lung cancer is usually not found until a person de­velops symptoms. At that time, the cancer is much harder to treat. Studies have shown that early detec­tion through an LDCT lung screening can lower the risk of death from lung cancer by 20 percent in people who are at high risk.

Who Is At Risk Of Lung Cancer?

LDCT lung screening is recommended for the fol­lowing groups of people who are at high risk for lung can­cer:

  • Men and women between ages 55−77 who smoked an average of one pack a day for 30 years (including those quit within the past 15 years)
  • Anyone who had cancer in the past 
  • Patients with a history of pulmo­nary fibrosis
  • Patients with a family his­tory of lung cancer 
  • Patients with a history of ex­posure to the following substances: asbestos, arsenic, beryllium, cadmium, chro­mium, diesel fumes, nickel, radon, silica and uranium

Who Qualifies For Lung Cancer Screening?

Those who have symp­toms of a lung condition at the time of screening, such as a new cough or shortness of breath, are not eligible. Certain symptoms can be a sign that a lung condition is present, and it should be eval­uated and treated by a healthcare provid­er. These symptoms include 

  • Fever
  • Chest pain
  • New or changing cough 
  • Shortness of breath that you have nev­er felt before
  • Coughing up blood
  • Unexplained weight loss

Having any of these symptoms can greatly affect the results of lung screening and may actually delay nec­essary treatment.

young male doctor talking to elderly male patient sitting on bed

Easy Lung Cancer Screening

LDCT lung screening is one of the easiest screen­ing exams you can have. The exam takes less than 10 seconds. No medications are given, and no needles are used. You can eat before and after the exam. You do not even need to get changed, as long as the clothing on your chest does not contain metal. 

You must, however, be able to hold your breath for at least six seconds while the chest scan is being taken. You can also breathe easier knowing Medicare now cov­ers the cost of the CT lung cancer screening exam.

Risks Of Lung Cancer Screening

As with many exams, there are risks and limita­tions of LDCT lung screen­ing. These may include:

Radiation Exposure
False Negatives Or Posi­tives

Get Rapid Lung Screening Results

The results of your exam will be available to your phy­sician within 24-48 hours of the screening. You may also access the results yourself by contacting the hospital’s medical records department.

Roughly 1 out of 4 LDCT lung screening exams will find something in the lung that may require addi­tional imaging or evaluation. Most of the time these find­ings are lung nodules. Lung nodules are very small col­lections of tissue in the lung. These nodules are very com­mon, and the vast majority— more than 97 percent—are benign (not cancerous). Most are normal lymph nodes or small areas of scarring from past infections.

If a small lung nodule is found to be cancer, it can be cured more than 90 per­cent of the time. That is why this screening can be such a life saver. To distinguish the large number of benign nodules from the few nodules that are, in fact, cancer, more images may be necessary before your next yearly screening exam. 

If the nodule has suspicious features (for example, it is large, has an odd shape, or grows over time), you will be referred to a specialist for further testing.

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