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Even patients at low risk can develop lung cancer

WESTON, Fla. ā€“ When 84-year-old Leonard Kessler was diagnosed with prostate cancer this past June, doctors sent him in for a full body scan.

He was shocked when a doctor handed him a second diagnosis.

ā€œYou know heā€™s saying you have lung cancer, I said I was on my treadmill the other day and I never smoked,ā€ Kessler said.

While prostate cancer is common in older men, Dr. Dao Nguyen, chief of thoracic surgery with UHealth, said age is not a risk factor for lung cancer and only 10 to 20 percent of cases occur in non-smokers.

ā€œIn the majority of cases, lung cancer is detected by imaging of the body for various reasons and these cancers are detected incidentally, he said.

But in high-risk patients, which includes current smokers and those who have a long history of the habit, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends annual lung cancer screening.

ā€œStudies have shown that there is a 20 percent reduction in mortality of lung cancer when lung cancer screening is applied properly to patients at high-risk for lung cancer,ā€ Nguyen said.

He believes private care physicians need to be the front line for sending high risk patients in for lung cancer screening.

ā€œWe have seen patients, early-stage cancer, detected by the lung cancer screen program,ā€ Nguyen said.

Kessler said his daily exercise routine helped make him strong enough to undergo surgery to remove the cancer in his lungs and his prostate cancer was successfully treated.

ā€œMy prostate cancer diagnosis was a blessing in disguise, because one doesnā€™t want to go to the doctor after theyā€™re coughing up blood. Itā€™s a little late,ā€ Kessler said.

USPSTF Current Lung Cancer Screening Guidelines:

-Recommended for people who are 50 to 80 years old and in fairly good health, and currently smoke or have quit in the past 15 years and have at least a 20 pack-year smoking history.

-This is the number of packs of cigarettes per day multiplied by the number of years smoked.

-For example, someone who smoked 2 packs a day for 10 years [2 x 10 = 20] has 20 pack-years of smoking, as does a person who smoked 1 pack a day for 20 years [1 x 20 = 20].


About the Authors
Kristi Krueger headshot

Kristi Krueger has built a solid reputation as an award-winning medical reporter and effervescent anchor. She joined Local 10 in August 1993. After many years co-anchoring the 6 p.m. and 11 p.m., Kristi now co-anchors the noon newscasts, giving her more time in the evening with her family.

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