Lung cancer is cancer that begins in the lung (almost all people are born with two lungs). Anyone can get lung cancer, but some factors increase your risk. About 80%-90% of lung cancer deaths are related to cigarette smoking.
Screening people who have a long smoking history significantly reduces lung cancer deaths, but despite being a non-invasive and quick procedure, current rates in the U.S. are under 6%*—the lowest of any routine cancer screening.
*Source: American Lung Association
If you smoke cigarettes heavily or used to smoke cigarettes heavily, talk with your health care provider about lung cancer screening.
People who smoke cigarettes or used to smoke cigarettes may qualify for screening with a low-dose CT scan, an easy and painless screening procedure. Screening is recommended for those who have 20 pack-year histories of smoking.
A “pack-year history” is an estimate of how much a person has smoked over time. Multiply the number of packs of cigarettes smoked every day by the number of years smoking that amount.
One pack a day for 20 years is equal to 20 pack years. Two packs a day for 10 years also equals 20 pack years. Learn more about how pack years factor into your health.
Screening is recommended for those ages 50–80 with 20 pack-year histories. Guidelines from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommend screening for people who currently smoke or those who have quit within the past 15 years. American Cancer Society guidelines say it doesn’t matter when you quit.
Per the Affordable Care Act, insurance companies are required to cover lung cancer screenings for those who qualify under USPSTF guidelines. Some insurers may choose to cover services for additional groups. Check with your insurance provider to find out if you’ll be covered for routine lung cancer screening.
Eligibility for lung cancer screening is based on cigarette smoking. If you have a long history of smoking something else, such as cigars, talk with your health care provider about lung cancer screening. If screening is recommended for you, you may want to check with your insurance provider to see if it will be covered.
This information will help you and your health care provider decide which cancer screenings you need, when to begin screening and how often you should be screened.
Get StartedYou are at increased risk for lung cancer if you:
You may reduce your risk for lung cancer through these lifestyle-related modifications:
If you do, quit.
Beta-carotene supplements may increase risk of lung cancer.
Most people with early stage lung cancer do not experience any symptoms until the cancer has spread. Talk with your health care provider right away if you have any of these symptoms, even if you have none of the risk factors listed:
Treatment depends on the type of tumor cells (small cell or non-small cell), the stage of the cancer, the presence or absence of certain proteins or genetic mutations, and your medical condition.
In early stages of lung cancer, when the disease has not spread outside the lungs, surgery is the usual treatment. The most common type of surgery for early-stage lung cancer is lobectomy (removal of one lobe of the lung). A pneumonectomy (removal of the entire lung) could be done for cancer that has spread throughout the lung.
Chemotherapy uses drugs to kill cancer cells. It may be used alone or in combination with another therapy before or after surgery.
This treatment uses high doses of radiation to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. It may be used alone or in combination with another therapy before or after surgery.
Patients with certain mutations may be eligible for immunotherapy. This type of cancer treatment helps your immune system better respond to the cancer to detect and destroy abnormal cells. It may be used alone or in combination with another therapy before or after surgery.
Targeted therapy can be a drug or antibody that targets the proteins that affect how cancer cells grow, divide and spread. It may be used alone or in combination before or after surgery.
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