SACRAMENTO, Calif. —
November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month and statistics show it’s the leading cause of cancer death in the U.S for both men and women.
Dr. David Cooke with the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center told ABC10 those who are at the highest risk of lung cancer are people ages 50 to 80 and have smoked “20 pack years.”
Cooke said a “pack year” is the number of packs someone smokes per day multiplied by the number of years they’ve smoked.
For someone who smokes a pack a day for 20 years, that’s considered “20 pack years.”
The good news is that early detection can save a life, and screenings are fast, easy, and painless.
Screening tests consist of a low-dose CT scan, which can be ordered by a primary doctor.
“It’s a specialized X-ray; it’s a donut. You lie on a table, and you don’t have to take off your clothes. There’s no IV, and it takes 30 seconds,” Cooke said. “It’s up to you if you take off your shoes or not. And just in that 30 seconds you can get screened.”
Early detection doesn’t happen enough, as 75% of people with lung cancer learn about their diagnosis in the most advanced stages, Cooke said.
In California, Cooke said the need for screenings and awareness is even more important, as the state ranks last in the country in lung cancer screenings. Only 1% of eligible Californians get screened for lung cancer.
Click here to learn more about how to screen for lung cancer.
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