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Lung Cancer: Should I Have Screening?

You may want to have a say in this decision, or you may simply want to follow your doctor's recommendation. Either way, this information will help you understand what your choices are so that you can talk to your doctor about them.

Lung Cancer: Should I Have Screening?

Here's a record of your answers. You can use it to talk with your doctor or loved ones about your decision.

Get the facts

Your options

  • Have a lung cancer screening test every year. This test is a low-dose CT scan.
  • Do not have this yearly test.

This decision aid is for people at high risk for lung cancer. This includes people age 50 and older who have a heavy smoking history and who have smoked within the last 15 years. In general, screening is more helpful for people who have smoked more and longer, because they are at the highest risk.

Key points to remember

  • Lung cancer screening is a way to find some lung cancers early, when the cancer is more treatable. Screening with CT scans has been shown to lower the risk of dying from lung cancer in some older people who are or were heavy smokers.
  • Screening will miss some lung cancers. And many cancers that are found may still be fatal, even with treatment.
  • Screening is done with a CT scan. It uses X-rays, or radiation, to make detailed pictures of your body. Having the test every year means being exposed to this radiation on a regular basis.
  • For many people, CT scans show spots on the lungs that aren't cancer. This leads to more tests to make sure you don't have cancer. These extra tests can sometimes cause harm or cause a lot of worry.
  • Some lung cancers found on CT scans are harmless and would not have caused a problem if they had not been found through screening. But because doctors can't tell which ones will turn out to be harmless, most will be treated. This means that you may get treatment—including surgery, radiation, or chemotherapy—that you don't need.
  • If you are a smoker, stopping smoking is the best way to lower your chance of getting and dying from lung cancer. Not smoking helps more than lung cancer screening does.

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Current as of: October 25, 2024

Author: Ignite Healthwise, LLC StaffIgnite Healthwise, LLC Staff

Clinical Review BoardClinical Review Board
All Ignite Healthwise, LLC education is reviewed by a team that includes physicians, nurses, advanced practitioners, registered dieticians, and other healthcare professionals.

This information does not replace the advice of a doctor. Ignite Healthwise, LLC, disclaims any warranty or liability for your use of this information. Your use of this information means that you agree to the Terms of UseTerms of Use. Learn how we develop our contenthow we develop our content.

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