Changing Screening Age Could Detect More Lung Cancer Cases

Just the word cancer is frightening. Cancer in the human body can take multiple forms. Liver, bone, tumors, even blood cancer. (Leukemia.) But the cancer that takes the most lives in the United States, is lung cancer. 

Why is this true? 

Some experts say that the reason lung cancer is so devastating in the United States is because the current rules for screening for lung cancer are not as effective as say colon cancer or breast cancer. 

According to seattletimes.com,
‘Under current recommendations, people are eligible for screening if they are 50 to 80 years old and have a history of heavy smoking, either actively or in the past 15 years. But those guidelines exclude a large number of people who could have their cancer detected earlier, according to a new study published Thursday in JAMA Network Open, a peer-reviewed journal.’ 

This particular study shows that only 1/3 of the 1000 individuals treated for cancer at Northwestern Medicine actually qualified for the screening. The conclusion? Most lung cancer patients in the United States are not being screened, they don't qualify.  

Researchers say that if screening rules were changed. (40 to 85 years of age) up to 94% of lung cancer cases could be detected potentially saving 26,000 lives a year. That is only a 10-year change in early screening. Researchers say we should not make the mistake of thinking that lung cancer is a smoker's disease. With the kind of particle pollution, we have in this modern age lung cancer is showing up in younger and younger patients. 

How to screen for lung cancer? 

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, which is an independent panel of medical experts say that if you're eligible for a lung cancer screening, you should get what's called a low dose CT scan annually.  

I had a chat with a billing expert from Confluence Health to find out exactly how much a CT scan would cost in the Wenatchee Valley. She guided me through the Confluence Health website, and I discovered that an upper body CT scan (They did not show a “low dose CT scan” category) would price out without insurance to $1056.00 dollars. 

Obviously, that's a lot of money, but I wanted to get the price if you were uninsured. If you're insured, well, that would be a discussion between you and your provider. 

The main thing to keep in mind is that if you wait for symptoms to show up before you get screened for lung cancer, it's probably already too late. 

The bottom line, take care of yourself, and if you're eligible for that lung cancer screening. Do it.
Why screening for the deadliest cancer in the U.S. misses most cases | The Seattle Times