NBC Nightly News - "Fighting Lung Cancer"
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States, killing more than 160,000 people a year. Today, a government panel released guidelines that could improve those numbers. Healthy adults between the ages of 55 and 80 who are heavy smokers- they’ve smoked the equivalent of a pack a day for thirty years, should get an annual low-dose CT scan to detect early signs of cancer. Those who have quit within the last fifteen years should also be screened. “We think this will make a big difference and many people will be able to enjoy a very productive life once they get screened and they find their lung cancer early,” said Claudia Henschke, MD, Professor of Radiology at The Mount Sinai Hospital. Learn more