Dr. Caleb Dulaney

November is lung cancer awareness month, and Anderson Regional Medical Center is encouraging people to stay on top of their health with annual screenings.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in America.

Dr. Caleb Dulaney, a radiation oncologist at Anderson Regional Cancer Center, is reminding the public about the importance of getting screened for lung cancer.

“One the biggest goals about spreading awareness is getting more people to participate in the screening,” Dulaney said. “We’re looking at a bad problem, as this is the leading cause of cancer deaths, yet we don’t have enough people going through the screening. We have to change that.”

Lung cancer doesn’t typically show symptoms until it is too late to treat, so screenings are vital to survival.

According to the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, yearly lung cancer screening is recommended for people between 50 and 80 years old, have a 20-pack-year or more smoking history, and are current smokers or have quit within the past 15 years.

After someone meets the criteria for the screening, they will get a yearly low-dose CT scan of their lungs.

Dulaney said the procedure is a non-invasive test where the radiologist can look at three dimensions within the lung, but it’s designed to use lower doses of radiation to cause less potential harm.

In addition to screenings, prevention is also important. 

“Most lung cancers are still related to either smoking directly or smoke exposure,” Dulaney added. “Honestly, the biggest prevention is to help people quit smoking and strategies to help prevent people from starting smoking. This will greatly impact the reduction of lung cancer.”