Screening Rates For Lung Cancer ‘Truly Abysmal,’ Study Finds
The rates for other screenings are usually between 60 to 80 percent, while less than 2 percent of patients are taking advantage of lung screenings which can catch cancer while its still curable.
The Associated Press:
A Cancer Screening Flop: Few Smokers Seek Free Lung Scans
Lung cancer screening has proved to be stunningly unpopular. New research shows that five years after government and private insurers started paying for it, less than 2 percent of eligible current and former smokers have sought the free scans. That's way below the 60 percent to 80 percent rates for breast, colon or cervical cancer screening. (Marchione, 5/16)
Bloomberg:
America’s Heaviest Smokers Don’t Want To Know If They Have Cancer
A new study found that fewer than 2 percent of heavy smokers in the U.S. get recommended lung cancer screenings, an imaging test that can catch tumors when they are small and potentially curable. The numbers fall far short of screening for other types of cancer, including mammograms and colonoscopies—both procedures that are much more uncomfortable than the CT scan used to detect tiny tumors in the lungs. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the U.S., killing an estimated 150,000 Americans each year. For the past five years, such groups as the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force and the American Society of Clinical Oncology have urged people aged 55 or older who have smoked a pack a day (or the equivalent) for three decades or more to get checked for early stage disease. (Cortez, 5/17)
