Lung Cancer Awareness Month highlights need for more screening

Watch Lung Cancer Awareness Month highlights need for more screening - Straight Arrow News on Dailymotion

Transcript

00:00Lung cancer is still the number one cause of cancer-related deaths.

00:04November is National Lung Cancer Awareness Month,

00:06a month the medical community reminds us why getting screened early and often could save your life.

00:14There's actually some data out there that shows that only about 15% of people who are eligible get screened.

00:20Dr. Danielle Hughes is a pulmonary and critical care physician.

00:23She stresses early detection is key when it comes to cancer.

00:26So if we can find it earlier, we can offer patients better survival overall.

00:32A report by the American Lung Association shows someone is diagnosed with lung cancer every two minutes in the United States.

00:38361 people die from the disease every day.

00:41With those numbers, Hughes reiterates, if you've ever smoked, you need to talk to your doctor about screening.

00:46It's really hard when I see a patient that comes in who's 65, should have been getting screened for 15 years,

00:54and we find something that's extremely extensive.

00:57Not to mention that screening may find other health concerns.

01:00We'll find things like coronary artery disease or, you know, maybe I'm finding beginnings of some lung disease on there.

01:07No matter what, if anything is found, Hughes says the key is regular screenings.

01:12Regular screening has been shown to catch lung cancer at earlier stages,

01:17and earlier stages have better prognosis and better survival.

01:21At the end of the day, Hughes reminds that we are our own best advocate.

01:24If you think something is wrong, get it checked out.

01:27The earlier that we detect things, the better the prognosis and survival.

01:31For Straight Arrow News, I'm Jack Henry.