Who should be screened for lung cancer? [Video]

QUESTION: Who should be screened for lung cancer, and how is it covered by Medicare? I used to smoke but quit many years ago and am wondering if I need to be tested.

ANSWER: Even if you haven’t touched a cigarette in decades, you could still be due for an annual lung cancer screening, based on new recommendations from the American Cancer Society (ACS).

The new guidelines state that adults ages 50 to 80 who currently smoke or used to smoke the equivalent of one pack a day for 20 years should get an annual low-dose computed tomography scan (also called a CT scan), no matter how long ago you quit.

ACS guidelines previously said that those who quit 15 or more years ago were in the clear. But new studies have shown that expanding screening eligibility saves lives, even among people who quit smoking years earlier.

Early Detection Saves Lives

Lung cancer is the deadliest …