Lung cancer kills more people than any form of the disease. But with early detection and intervention, it doesn’t have to be a death sentence.
November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month, and Dr. Tim LeClair, Director of Interventional Pulmonology with Intermountain Health wants you to know how to ensure your cancer is detected and treated early.
Many think of the lung like a balloon or an air pump, but like so much inside our body, the lung defies easy assumptions.
“Remember that the lung has the surface area of a half of one half of a tennis court,” said LeClair.
And we’re talking half of a double’s tennis court. That’s about 427 square feet. With two lungs, you have the full court.
Amazing, but also a daunting way to think about what it means to detect lung cancer early.
“So if you have a three centimeter nodule in your lung, and it's cancer, you're not likely going to have symptoms, and you know, that size tumor is already getting to a point where it's going to affect your overall survival if it's not detected…” said LeClair.
Three centimeters would be easy to spot on a balloon...but on a tennis court?
“So you can appreciate that if we can detect tumors as small as one centimeter which we can do with CT scans. And that can be done in an in a timely manner that your likelihood of survival is much higher,” said LeClair.
That what Dr. LeClair wants to help patients do. Find that malignant centimeter early enough that intervention extends your life for years.
“Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the country. Unfortunately, patients don't typically seek treatment for what they think might be cancer in the lung until it's too late,” said LeClair.
So who should seek a CT scan to check for lung cancer?
Lung cancer screening is most important for current and former smokers.
“Usually greater than 20 Pack years, so one pack per day for a year as a pack year. So more than that, you're at higher risk for lung cancer if you're older. So, your risk goes up after age 50.”
Smoked for 20 years? Call your doctor.
Quit a long time ago? To an extent your risk depends on how long.
“It appears to be those patients who have quit within 15 years are at higher risk than those for instance, who may have smoked in their 20s and then say, are eight. So, it's been quite a long time since they quit.”
Aside from smokers, let age be your guide. If you are older than 55, screening is a good idea.
“We know that early detection leads to the possibility of cure and cure is your if you're able to be cured from lung cancer, the likelihood of surviving five years is the highest. As opposed to those patients who may present in later stages, which honestly represents a much higher percent of patients who are diagnosed with lung cancer, or those later stages when they have symptoms, or their likelihood of survival is about 9% at five years. So that's a really important point is don't wait for symptoms,” said LeClair.
Utah has the lowest lung cancer rates in the country, but Utahns who are at high risk are less likely to get screened than people in other states.
To find out more about lung cancer screening and if it's right for you, click here.
