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Lung cancer screening saves lives

Find out if you might be a candidate for lung cancer screening by taking our risk assessment.

Lung Cancer

Each year, more people die of lung cancer than of colon, breast, and prostate cancers combined, making lung cancer the leading cause of cancer death. Most people with lung cancer don’t have symptoms until the cancer is advanced. Getting screened for the disease is the best way to detect it early, when treatment is most effective. 

Screening

You may be a candidate for screening if you:

  • Are between 50 and 77 years old
  • Smoke now or have quit within the past 15 years

Our Oncology Nurse Navigator can help you determine if lung cancer screening is right for you. Please call (805) 346-3463.

The only recommended screening test for lung cancer is low-dose computed tomography (also called a low-dose CT scan, or LDCT). During an LDCT scan, you lie on a table and an X-ray machine uses a low dose (amount) of radiation to make detailed images of your lungs. The scan only takes a few minutes and is not painful.

Risk Factors

Smoking (including secondhand smoke) is the number one risk factor for lung cancer.


About 80% of lung cancer deaths are thought to result from smoking. The risk of lung cancer for people who smoke is many times higher than for people who don't smoke. 

  • The longer you smoke and the more packs a day you smoke, the greater your risk
  • Smoking only a few cigarettes a day or smoking occasionally increases the risk of lung cancer
  • Even if you don’t smoke, breathing in the smoke of others can increase your risk of developing lung cancer

Symptoms

Most people with lung cancer don’t have symptoms until the cancer is advanced. If you are at risk, you should be screened to find cancer early (even before you have symptoms), when treatment is more effective.


Some people have symptoms related to the lungs. Some people whose lung cancer has spread to other parts of the body (metastasized) have symptoms specific to that part of the body. Some people just have general symptoms of not feeling well. 


Lung cancer symptoms may include—

  • Coughing that gets worse or doesn’t go away
  • Chest pain
  • Shortness of breath
  • Wheezing
  • Coughing up blood
  • Feeling very tired all the time
  • Weight loss with no known cause

Insurance and Medicare Coverage

Most insurance plans and Medicare help pay for recommended lung cancer screening tests. Check with your insurance plan to find out what benefits are covered for lung cancer screening. For more information about Medicare coverage, visit www.medicare.gov or call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227).

Should you be screened for lung cancer?

Take our short assessment to find out if lung cancer screening may be recommended for you.

Take the assessment


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(805) 346-3463

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