Annual low-dose CT scans are now recommended for smokers with 20 pack years, who are over 50 years of age and have stopped smoking within the past 15 years.

The screening test is progressively becoming more advisable because of improvements in technology, such as endoscopic biopsy, and improved criteria to prevent overtreating false positives.

The advantage of the test is that cancer can often be caught early, at which time 60% is curable, compared to only 7% five-year survival if the disease has spread.

It’s startling to realize how a few people take advantage of this test, currently averaging only 6%. Family practitioners have been slow to embrace this valuable preventative screening, and the American Lung association has increased It’s outreach to doctors and patients alike.

Lung cancer is still the nations top cancer threat,  killing upwards of 127,000 people in the United States each year, although the toll has lessened recently thanks to the declining smoking rates and new treatments.

—Dr. C.