"The purpose of lung cancer screening is to detect lung cancer early before the appearance of symptoms and improve the chances of cure"

Video: Why is lung cancer screening important?

What is Lung Cancer Screening?

The purpose of lung cancer screening is to detect lung cancer early before the appearance of symptoms and improve the chances of cure

Lung cancer screening is a detailed imaging of your lungs using a low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) scan machine. You will only need to lie on an examination table for a few minutes and you will not feel any pain and discomfort.

If you are or have been a smoker for many years, it is recommended to talk with your health care professional about the following information and determine if lung cancer screening is right for you:

• Do you meet the lung cancer screening criteria?(clickable link)
• Possible benefits and harms (clickable link) of lung cancer screening

Lung Cancer Screening Criteria

Lung cancer screening is not recommended for everyone. People at high risk for lung cancer are most likely to be benefit from lung cancer screening.

According to the guideline of the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), you are eligible for lung cancer screening if you meet all the following criteria:

Note: Calculating pack-years

Pack-year is [the numbers of years you smoked] multiply [the average numbers of packs of cigarettes you smoked per day]. For example, you smoked 2 packs a day and smoked this amount for 10 years. Pack-years=2x10=20 pack-years.