Who should consider a lung cancer screening?

The only way to catch lung cancer in its earliest, most treatable form.

Of the many forms of cancer and the endless devastation they cause, lung cancer could be considered the most devastating, accounting for approximately one out of every four cancer deaths.

And yet, according to the American Lung Association, just 16 percent of lung cancer cases are diagnosed in an early, more treatable stage.

Early signs of lung cancer can appear as common, innocuous symptoms often written off as a passing inconvenience: unexplained weight loss, loss of appetite, reduced energy.

By this point, the cancer may already be advancing.

This prompted cancer specialists to develop guidelines for screenings that can detect lung cancer in its early stages. This is achieved using a CT scan — commonly used imaging technology — of the chest to identify the small cancerous nodules or other lung abnormalities.

With a history of smoking being the leading risk factor for lung cancer, those who should consider a low-dose CT lung cancer screening are:

• Current smokers, or former smokers who have quit within the past 15 years with at-least a 30 pack-year smoking history
• Between the ages of 55 and 70
• Absence of symptoms of lung cancer
• Absence of other diseases that would prevent a person from receiving cancer treatment

Detecting lung cancer in its earliest stages often means the cancer remains localized in the lungs and has not spread, making it more responsive to treatment and increasing the survival rate.