RENO, Nev. (KOLO) – November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month and Nevada Cancer Coalition (NCC) and its partners are working to educate Nevadans about the early detection of this all-too-common cancer that affects thousands of Nevadans each year. Newer and more effective screening has helped some people find lung cancer earlier, when it’s easier to treat and survive, but the disease remains by far Nevada’s No. 1 cancer killer. Each year, more people will die from lung cancer than from colorectal and breast cancer combined.

Sarah Grocki, Community Engagement Manager, and Cari Herington, NCC Executive Director, stopped by Morning Break to share how NCC is helping to spread awareness about this deadly disease and the available screenings that many people don’t take advantage of.

The Nevada Cancer Coalition is working to spread the word with “Screen Your Lungs” yard signs that can easily replace post-election campaign signs on front lawns and local businesses. The free signs are available in English or Spanish and are weatherproof to use year after year.

Annual lung cancer screening with low-dose computed tomography, LDCT, has been recommended since 2013 for those at high risk of lung cancer, replacing the less effective chest X-ray as the preferred screening method. It’s a relatively new recommendation, however, compared to other cancer screenings, such as the Pap test, colonoscopy, or mammography, which have been recommended screening methods since the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, respectively.

People between the ages of 50 and 80 with a smoking history of at least 20 years, current smokers, or who have quit within the past 15 years are eligible to be screened. A pack-year is one pack of cigarettes per day for one year, so 20 pack-years would be one pack per day for 20 years or two packs per day for 10 years.

Last year, only about 1.4 percent of Nevadans eligible to be screened for lung cancer were actually tested. But the chance of surviving lung cancer is more than doubled when it is caught at an early stage. Anyone who thinks they may be eligible for screening should talk to their healthcare provider about getting screened and ask for a referral.

Learn more about lung cancer screening and check your eligibility at SavedByTheScan.org. To request a “Screen Your Lungs” court sign, email [email protected].

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