‘Screen Your Lungs’ the Key Message for Lung Cancer Awareness Month

November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month and Nevada Cancer Coalition and its partners are working to educate Nevadans about early detection of this all-too-common cancer that affects thousands of Nevadans every year. Newer, more effective screening has helped some people to find their lung cancer earlier when it’s easier to treat and survive, but the disease remains the #1 cancer killer in Nevada by far. Each year more people will die of lung cancer than of colorectal and breast cancer combined.

“Regular screening for people at higher risk for lung cancer has improved with the use of low-dose CT scans, but many people aren’t aware that screening is an option or that they’re eligible to be screened,” said NCC Executive Director Cari Herington. “If we can get more Nevadans who are at increased risk of developing lung cancer to get screened, we can save lives and reduce the toll this disease takes on our friends and families.”

Nevada Cancer Coalition is working to get the word out with “Screen Your Lungs” yard signs which can easily replace campaign signs after the election on front lawns and at local businesses. The free signs are available in English or Spanish and are weather resistant to be used year after year.

Annual lung cancer screening with low-dose computed tomography, LDCT, has been recommended since 2013 for those at increased risk of lung cancer, replacing the less effective chest x-ray as the preferred method for screening. It’s a relatively new recommendation, however, as compared to other cancer screenings such as the Pap test, colonoscopy, or mammogram, which were recommended screening methods starting in the ‘60s, ‘70s, and ‘80s, respectively.

People ages 50-80 with at least a 20-year pack history of smoking, who currently smoke or who have quit within the past 15 years, are eligible to be screened. A pack year is one pack of cigarettes a day for a year, so 20 pack years would be a pack a day for 20 years or two packs a day for 10 years.

“Last year, only about 1.4% of Nevadans eligible to be screened for lung cancer actually got screened, which means we have the opportunity to help so many more people take control of their health and get screened,” said Dr. Chivonne Harrigal, a northern Nevada-based radiologist. “The chance of surviving lung cancer more than doubles when it’s found in the earliest stage. Anyone who thinks they may be eligible for screening should talk to their healthcare provider about getting screened and ask for a referral.”

Learn more about lung cancer screening and check eligibility at SavedByTheScan.org. To request “Screen Your Lungs” yard sign, email Sarah@NevadaCancerCoalition.org.