Lung cancer kills about 370 Americans every day, yet most people don’t know about life-saving screenings for the disease.
According to the American Lung Association, only 38% of respondents knew that lung cancer screening was available to people at high risk. Even fewer, 28%, knew that lung cancer was the leading cause of cancer death in the United States.
On “CBS Mornings” Thursday, Dr. Celine Gounder, a CBS News medical contributor and senior public health editor at KFF Health News, said that needs to change.
“People just need to know that it’s an option,” she said, adding that screenings have become more accessible over the past decade. “It should be covered by your insurance because it’s a preventive health care recommendation. So talk to your doctor if you think you’re in the high-risk category.”
Here’s what you need to know about lung cancer risk factors and screening:
What are the current recommendations for lung cancer screening?
The American Cancer Society’s latest lung cancer screening guidelines recommend annual lung cancer screening for people aged 50 to 80 who smoke or have smoked and who have a history of cigarette smoking of at least 20 years.
“When we talk about pack-years, we multiply the average number of packs per day by the number of years we smoke,” Gounder says. “So let’s say one pack per day times 20 years, or two packs per day times 10 years, which is 20 pack-years.”
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What is lung cancer screening?
The tests involve CT scans of the lungs to assess for cancer, Gounder said.
While lying down, you’re rolled back and forth several times in a “doughnut-shaped machine,” which captures 3-D X-rays of your lungs, she said.
The test is a “fairly quick procedure, less than 10 minutes, but it’s something that’s really underused in people who are at high risk (and) who really should be screened,” she said.
Lung Cancer Risk Factors Beyond Smoking
If you think smoking is the only way to develop lung cancer, think again.
Gounder said other risk factors include:
- Exposure to asbestos at work
- Radon
- Cooking and other types of smoke, which Gounder says are “really underrated.”
- Wildfire smoke and other types of air pollution are “a growing risk factor,” she said.
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