Lung cancer screening plays an important role in early detection of the disease and its cure hereafter. This Lung Cancer Awareness Month, let's spread the word about lung cancer screening and how it can play a role in prevention of the disease.
Lung Cancer Awareness Month 2017: Here's how lung cancer screening can save your life
HIGHLIGHTS
- Early detection of lung cancer greatly relies on screening
- At present, screening is not utilized up to the mark
- Lung cancer screening is covered under most health insurances
Early detection of lung cancer greatly relies on screening and that is when it is more likely to be cured. If the disease is spotted and understood well in advance, the likelihood of the patient to survive five years improves from 11% to 55%. A screening tool namely a low-dose CT scan has been recognized as an effective tool for screening lung cancer and reduces its mortality rate. Also, it is estimated that if only half of the people at high-risk were screened, over 15000 lives can be saved. The month of November is observed globally as the Lung Cancer Awareness Month. This year, let's spread the word about lung cancer screening and how it can play a role in prevention of the disease.
At present, screening is not utilized up to the mark. To look for an answer, Lung Association's LUNG FORCE conducted the 4th Lung Health Barometer survey consisting of 1400 people in order to gauge their awareness regarding lung cancer and its screening.
Also read: Air Pollution May Spike Death Risk More Than Lung Cancer
The Lung Health Barometer found that it is a leading cause of death in America and yet awareness about it is critically low. Only 15% of the population is aware that this screening is covered by Medicare and majority healthcare plans at no cost. And the major reason why people do not know about it will stun you; it's because their doctors never recommend the treatment.
To make situations better, it is important to spread a strong word about lung cancer awareness and the availability of screening for the people who are at risk. Take a look at four key points about lung cancer screening.
1. Screening can save lives
A low dose CT scan is an important tool for lung cancer screening. It is a tool recognized for being very effective in reducing lung cancer mortality rate. The screening is painless and quick and if you are or were prone to smoking before or after 55, you should ask your doctor about the screening.
2. Screening is not recommended for everyone
Lung cancer screening is not recommended for everyone. It is only for people who are at high risk of the disease.
Also read: FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ON HEALTH
3. Spread the word about screening
Lung cancer screening is important and the word about screening needs to be spread to people. It is estimated that if only half of the people get screened, thousands of lives can be saved.
4. Lung cancer screening is covered under insurance
Lung cancer screening is covered under Medicare and most health insurance plans. So, it is available to all those people who are at high risk for no cost at all.
Screening is the key to cure of lung cancer. In order to combat the disease, early screening is important. So, this Lung Cancer Awareness Month, let's spread the word against this disease and increase awareness about its screening.
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