National Cancer Prevention Month: A Focus on Lung Screenings

February is National Cancer Prevention Month, and Oklahoma CyberKnife would like to recognize this time by highlighting healthy lifestyle tips recommended by the American Institute for Cancer Research. These include:

• Eating plenty of plant foods, limiting intake of red meat and avoiding processed meat.
• Being physically active daily for 30 minutes or more.
• Maintaining a healthy weight.

While living a healthy lifestyle may help reduce the risk of a cancer diagnosis, the disease does not discriminate and even those who avoid cancer-causing habits may face a diagnosis they never expected. For example, although tobacco use is a known contributing risk factor to lung cancer, approximately 16,000 to 24,000 Americans die of lung cancer every year, even though they have never smoked, according to the American Cancer Society (ACS).

Smokers and non-smokers should both be aware of factors that raise the risk for developing lung cancer, and consider lifestyle changes aimed at lowering their risk. Smokers, in particular, should educate themselves on resources available for early detection, given male smokers are about 23 times more likely and female smokers are about 13 times more likely to get lung cancer, according to the ACS.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommends CT lung cancer screening for long-term smokers, specifically adults between the ages of 55 to 80 who have a 30-year history of smoking at least a pack a day and who currently smoke or have quit within the last 15 years. The recommendation marks major progress in diagnosing high-risk patients sooner when the disease is usually most treatable.

Oklahoma CyberKnife’€™s hospital partner, Hillcrest Medical Center, offers a lung cancer screening program for those who are candidates. Learn more about the Lung Center at Hillcrest’s screening program here. And if you’€™re interested in learning more about CyberKnife treatment for lung cancer, view our presentation. 

This is not intended as medical advice to replace the expertise and judgment of your health care team. It is intended to help you and your family make informed decisions, together with your doctor.