If you smoke or once did, get screened for lung cancer with a low-dose CT scan

Denise Lee smoked for 40 years — sometimes up to two packs a day. At age 54, she made the choice to quit. After her last cigarette, she saw an American Lung Association billboard that read, “If you smoked, this lung cancer screening could save your life.”

She made an appointment, got a low-dose CT scan and within 24 hours, her doctor called with the results: They found a mass in her upper left lobe. They suspected that it was lung cancer. Later, the diagnosis was confirmed.

At the time, she felt fine and had no symptoms. But because she caught her lung cancer early, she had multiple treatment options to choose from. Today, eight years later — and because she was proactive about her health — Lee is cancer-free.

Lung cancer screening is quick, painless and noninvasive. And as Lee’s experience shows, early detection can save your life. As president and CEO of the American Lung Association and as a lifelong lung health advocate, I’m driven every day by wanting to help people live longer and healthier lives. That’s why I want more people, especially current and former smokers, to know about this easy step they can take to proactively address their health.

Tragically, lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in the U.S., but too few people are getting screened. Only about 1 in 4 lung cancer cases are detected early, when the five-year survival rate is over 60%.

Lung cancer often grows silently without any symptoms. That’s why early detection is so important. It’s the best way to diagnose the disease early enough to treat it effectively. But more than 4 in 5 high-risk current and former smokers haven’t been screened for lung cancer.

Lung cancer screening is strongly recommended for those at high risk. That includes people who currently smoke, have quit within the last 15 years, or are between the ages of 50 and 80 and have a 20-pack-a-year history — that means smoking one pack a day for 20 years, two packs a day for 10 years or a similar combination.

Advancements in screening technology have greatly improved, and today health care providers use a low-dose CT scan. Patients simply lie down on a table while an open imaging machine takes pictures to examine lung heath. The test is quick and painless and is covered by Medicare and most private insurance plans.

No one wants to hear they could have cancer. But a lung cancer screening can open the door to an array of lifesaving treatments, from surgery and chemotherapy to newer advances like targeted therapy and immunotherapy. Thanks to early detection and medical advances, lung cancer is no longer the death sentence it once was. It’s treatable and survivable.

Lung cancer screening is already saving lives. Over the last decade, it’s saved 80,000 years of life. That’s 80,000 more years spent with, and countless hugs from, grandkids, friends and loved ones. If every high-risk individual had been screened between 2013 and 2020, that number could have been more than six times higher — half a million years of life saved.

If you have a history of smoking, it’s not too late to take action. Take just one minute to visit SavedByTheScan.org to answer a few questions and help you determine your eligibility for a low-dose CT scan. More than 1 in 5 people who have taken the quiz found out they were at high risk.

I joined the American Lung Association in 1978 when I was just 23 years old. I’ve seen us make great strides in fighting this awful disease. But there’s always more that each of us can do to protect our health.

If your lungs could talk, they’d let you know you may be at risk for lung cancer and to talk to your doctor about getting screened. Listening to them could save your life.

Harold Wimmer is the president and CEO of the American Lung Association.