Your age and smoking history mean lung cancer screening is not currently recommended for you.
Lung cancer screening is normally offered to people who are at least 50 years old and have a 20 pack-year smoking history. This means smoking one pack a day for 20 years, or two packs a day for 10 years.
When you turn 50 years old, you may become eligible for lung cancer screening, depending on your smoking history at that time.
It’s never too late to quit smoking.
The best way to lower your risk for lung cancer is to quit smoking today. Up to 80% of lung cancers are caused by smoking.
If you’ve already quit, congratulations. If you’re still trying to quit, research shows that using a combination of medication and counseling will double your chances of success.
Quitting at any age improves your health and reduces your risk for disease.
Talk to your doctor about quitting or call 1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-784-8669).
Know your body and be aware of lung cancer symptoms.
Talk to your doctor right away if you:
- have a cough that lasts more than six weeks,
- are diagnosed with asthma as an adult,
- have a cough that produces blood or rust-colored phlegm,
- experience unexplained weight loss.
These are not the only symptoms of lung cancer, others include constant chest pain, arm or shoulder pain, shortness of breath, repeated episodes of pneumonia or bronchitis, swelling of the neck and face and widening of the fingertips.
Learn more about lung cancer screening.
When you are 50, consider checking again about lung cancer screening.
Lung cancer screening can catch cancer early, when it’s easiest to treat. Screening can help you avoid invasive and costly treatments.
Lung cancer screening usually involves a spiral CT scan. The scan produces detailed images that your physician will use to check for signs of cancer.
This calculator is not meant to be a substitute for medical advice. Results should be considered in combination with advice from your doctor.
Smoking is on the decline. But if you are one of the 38 million Americans still smoking daily, you probably know how hard it is to quit.
The majority of smokers – 70% -- report that they want to stop smoking. Of those, 50% say they tried to quit in the previous year. Only 7% succeed.
There is plenty of reason to seek relief from nicotine addiction: Tobacco use accounts for about one-third of all cancers, and 90% of lung cancer cases. It also contributes to heart disease, stroke and lung disease.
So what's the best way to quit smoking?
"The best way to quit smoking is with a combination of medication and counseling," says Maher Karam-Hage, M.D., medical director of the Tobacco Treatment Program at MD Anderson. "They both help. But you double your chances by using both compared with one of them."