Vim & Vigor - Spring 2020 - Northside Hospital - 38

38

Fact or Fiction

Lung Cancer
Symptoms

THE TRUTH ABOUT

Lung Cancer
Screening
A SIMPLE PROCEDURE GREATLY INCREASES
THE CHANCES OF SURVIVING LUNG CANCER,
BUT THE TEST ISN'T FOR EVERYONE
BY JOSH JARMANNING
Lung cancer kills more
men and women worldwide than any other kind
of cancer. That's because by the time
most people show symptoms, the
disease has spread, making treatment next to impossible.
"Most people don't realize how
big of a problem lung cancer is,"
says Andrea McKee, MD, a radiation oncologist and spokeswoman
for the American Lung Association.
"Because there are not a lot of treatment options, we've been fatalistic
about it. People have not wanted to
think about it."
Thankfully, annual lung cancer
screening in the form of low-dose
CT scans (a series of chest X-rays)
has rewritten the rules on survivability. When lung cancer is discovered
at its earliest stage through screening,
more than 90 percent of cases are
curable, McKee says, a fact that few
people know.
Early screening, clearly, is critical.
But there is more to the issue. Here's
what to know.

If you're older than 55 and
smoke a pack a day, you
should probably be screened.

FACT. Low-dose CT scans as
a method of reducing lung cancer
deaths gained credibility after a
SPRING 2020 VIM & VIGOR

National Cancer Institute trial
of more than 50,000 current and
former smokers showed a 15 to
20 percent lower risk of dying
from lung cancer for people who
had CT scans versus standard
chest X-rays.
As a result, the American Lung
Association and other experts
recommend annual screening for
people ages 55 to 80 who meet
certain criteria: They have a
30 pack-year history of smoking
(one pack a day for 30 years or
two packs a day for 15 years,
for example) and are currently
smoking or have quit in the past
15 years.
"Age and tobacco use are the top
two risk factors for lung cancer,"
McKee says.

It's expensive to get a lung
cancer screening.

FICTION. Medicare and most
private insurers will cover the
initial scan with no out-of-pocket
costs for patients. That's because
the results of the clinical trial led
the U.S. Preventive Services Task
Force (an independent, volunteer
panel of national experts in disease
prevention) to recommend that
everyone in the high-risk group
be screened.

"Part of what makes lung
cancer so scary is the fact
that it doesn't always cause
symptoms," explains Nan
McCormick, RN, thoracic
oncology nurse navigator at
Northside Hospital Gwinnett.
"In part, this is due to the fact
that lungs don't have many
nerve endings, which means
a tumor could grow without
causing pain or discomfort."
Even if you aren't
experiencing pain, watch for
these symptoms:
A cough that doesn't
go away and gets worse
over time
Hoarseness
Shortness of breath
or wheezing
Frequent lung infections,
such as bronchitis or
pneumonia
Coughing up blood
"Additionally, there are other,
more advanced symptoms
of lung cancer that may not
seem related to the lungs
or breathing, but they're
still worth taking note of,"
McCormick says. These
warning signs include:
Weight loss
Decreased appetite
Headaches
Bone pain or fractures
Blood clots

Should
You Get
Screened?

Northside Hospital offers the
latest screening technologies
to detect lung cancer at its
earliest and most treatable
stage. To see if you qualify,
visit northside.com/
lungscreen.
https://www.gwinnettmedicalcenter.org/services/cancer-care/lung-screening https://www.gwinnettmedicalcenter.org/services/cancer-care/lung-screening
Vim & Vigor - Spring 2020 - Northside Hospital

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