Site Name

Patient Care Services

At LewisGale we treat the most important health concerns - yours. We provide healthcare services designed to meet your needs at every stage of your life.

Locations

Find a Doctor

Patients and Visitors

Patient care is our most important job. We want to make sure your experience is as pleasant as possible. This section contains information to help make your stay with us as comfortable as possible.

About Us

At Lewis Gale Regional Health System our focus is simple - putting Patients First. We have embraced this philosophy by focusing on patient care practices and new technology, keeping patient safety a top priority.

Health Library

LewisGale Regional Health System offers many educational opportunities to help you on your way to better health. Unless otherwise noted, all community education events are free, but registration is required for most of them.

For Clinicians

Home
Health Library
Condition Detail

Back to Previous Page

Screening for Lung Cancer

The purpose of screening is early diagnosis and treatment. Screening tests are usually administered to people without current symptoms, but who may be at high risk for certain diseases or conditions.

Screening Guidelines

The American Lung Association and American Cancer Society both suggest that if you meet the following criteria, you may want to consider screening:

You are a current or former smoker who quit within the last 15 years
You are 55-74 years old
You have a history of heavy smoking (eg, one pack a day for 30 years, two packs a day for 15 years)

If you meet these criteria, a low-dose CT scan should be used for screening. A CT scan is a series of x-rays put together by a computer to create images of the lung. This test may be able to identify smaller tumors better than a chest x-ray can.

References

Can non-small cell lung cancer be found early? American Cancer Society website. Available at: http://www.cancer.org/Cancer/LungCancer-Non-SmallCell/DetailedGuide/non-small-cell-lung-cancer-detection . February 17, 2012. Accessed May 14, 2012.

Learn about cancer—non-small cell. American Cancer Society website. Available at: http://www.cancer.org/docroot/lrn/lrn%5F0.asp . Accessed October 7, 2008.

Learn about cancer—small cell. American Cancer Society website. Available at: http://www.cancer.org/docroot/lrn/lrn%5F0.asp . Accessed October 7, 2008.

Lung cancer. American Lung Association website. Available at: http://www.lungusa.org/ . Accessed October 7, 2008.

Lung cancer. EBSCO DynaMed website. Available at: http://www.ebscohost.com/dynamed/what.php . Updated October 2008. Accessed October 7, 2008.

Lung cancer. National Cancer Institute website. Available at: http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/types/lung . Accessed October 7, 2008.

Lung cancer CT screening: is it right for me? American Lung Association website. Available at: http://www.lung.org/lung-disease/lung-cancer/lung-cancer-screening-guidelines/lung-cancer-screening-for-patients.pdf . Accessed May 10, 2012.

Non-small cell lung cancer: screening. EBSCO DynaMed website. Available at: http://www.ebscohost.com/dynamed/what.php . Updated March 3, 2011. Accessed March 17, 2011.

10/1/2009 DynaMed Systematic Literature Surveillance DynaMed's Systematic Literature Surveillance : Manser R, Irving L, Stone C, Byrnes G, Abramson M, Campbell D. Screening for lung cancer. Cochrane Database Syst Rev . 2009;(2):CD001991.

11/12/2010 DynaMed's Systematic Literature Surveillance DynaMed's Systematic Literature Surveillance : National Cancer Institute. Lung cancer trial results show mortality benefit with low-dose CT. National Cancer Institute website. Available at: http://www.cancer.gov/newscenter/pressreleases/NLSTresultsRelease . Accessed November 12, 2010.

Revision Information

Reviewer: Igor Puzanov, MD
Review Date: 09/2012 -
Update Date: 00/92/2012 -

This content is reviewed regularly and is updated when new and relevant evidence is made available. This information is neither intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider prior to starting any new treatment or with questions regarding a medical condition.