Rebecca Desir, MPH

Lung cancer is the number one cause of cancer death for both men and women in the United States. The five-year survival rate for lung cancer patients is a dismal 16 percent.

The good news is that new screening guidelines could dramatically improve lung cancer survival rates by finding the disease at an earlier, more treatable stage. The U.S. Preventative Services Task Force estimates that if physicians screen everyone who is at high risk for lung cancer, lung cancer deaths will be reduced by 14 percent.

The Task Force recommends an annual screening for lung cancer in adults age 55 to 80 years old with a heavy smoking history who are current smokers or who have quit within the past 15 years. Talk with your patients about the risk factors for lung cancer, including their age and history of smoking.

To learn more about lung health, attend the American Lung Association in Florida's LUNG FORCE Expo on Friday October 21, 2016 at SeaWorld Orlando. The LUNG FORCE Expo brings together healthcare professionals, patients and families to discuss advances in lung cancer and lung disease research, treatment options and patient resources. For more information and to register, visit LUNGFORCE.org/Expo. What you learn may help save your life.

Rebecca Desir, MPH, is the health promotions manager with the American Lung Association in Florida