November 3, 2017 at 4:47 p.m.
New report: Few know life-saving lung cancer screening is available
New report: Few know life-saving lung cancer screening is available
Lung cancer is the nation's leading cause of cancer deaths, and in 2014 4,081 Wisconsin residents were diagnosed with the disease.
Low-dose CT scan lung cancer screening can catch the disease early, when the lung cancer is more curable.
Results of the Lung Association's Lung Health Barometer illustrate the need for greater awareness and education of lung cancer and screening for those considered at high risk.
"The toll lung cancer takes on our families, friends and neighbors in Wisconsin and across the nation is truly devastating," Linda Witucki, executive director of the Lung Association in Wisconsin, said in a press release announcing the report. "With the availability of lung cancer screening, we have the opportunity to find the disease earlier and save lives. However, to make this life-saving opportunity a reality, we must do more to raise awareness of both lung cancer and screening."
"An estimated 9 million Americans are considered at high risk for lung cancer, and if only half of those at high risk were screened, more than 15,000 could be saved," the release states. "Despite this life-saving opportunity, fewer than five percent of high-risk Americans have been screened for lung cancer."
Key themes and findings of the 2017 Lung Health Barometer include:
Only 3 percent of women have lung cancer as a top-of-mind health concern.
Among high-risk current and former smokers, the survey revealed a low awareness of lung cancer screening:
Only 15 percent are aware that screening for lung cancer is recommended and covered by Medicare and most healthcare plans at no cost
The top reason those at high-risk for lung cancer give for not getting screened is that their doctor never recommended it.
84 percent of the high-risk population is unfamiliar with the only recommended lung cancer screening available - the low-dose CT scan. Despite it potentially saving their lives, 41 percent of high-risk current and former smokers are not planning on getting screened for lung cancer.
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