Respiratory health associations encourage early screening awareness and access for World Lung Cancer Day
image: Lung cancer kills more people each year than breast, colon and prostate cancers.
Credit: ATS
NEW YORK, NY – Aug. 01, 2024 – According to the World Health Organization, lung cancer kills more people yearly than breast, colon, and prostate cancers combined, and there are 2.1 million lung cancer cases worldwide. The risk of death can be drastically reduced through early detection of cancer and appropriate treatment.
This World Lung Cancer Day Aug. 1, early screening awareness and access to diagnose and treat lung cancer are critical, noted the American Thoracic Society and its Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS) partners.
“World Lung Cancer Day is an opportunity for the members of the Forum of International Respiratory Societies to advocate for access to early lung cancer screening for qualifying patients,” said M. Patricia Rivera, MD, ATSF, current president of FIRS and immediate-past-president of ATS. “Through early detection, we can make a global impact on lung cancer and its associated mortality.”
To identify and diagnose lung cancer in its earlier stages, it is recommended to seek lung cancer screening with a low-dose computed tomography (also known as low-dose CT or LDCT). If the individual is currently smoking or formerly smoked, lung cancer screening is recommended.
Individuals who meet the below criteria are at "high risk" for developing lung cancer and should be screened:
- 50-80 years of age.
- Have a 20-pack-year history of smoking (this means 1 pack a day for 20 years, 2 packs a day for 10 years, etc.)
- AND, currently smoke or have quit within the last 15 years.
It’s also beneficial to recognize the signs of lung cancer that may be a sign to seek screening. The most common symptoms of lung cancer are:
- cough that does not go away.
- chest pain.
- shortness of breath.
- coughing up blood (hemoptysis).
- Fatigue.
- weight loss with no known cause.
- lung infections that keep coming back.
For more facts on the global impact of lung cancer, view the WHO fact sheet: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/lung-cancer
More lung cancer resources are available in the new ATS booklet.