My mother came in for Thanksgiving this week. She has only been here one day, and her cough is worse than ever. She has been smoking for 40 years. She says she goes to her doctor regularly, but I am still concerned about lung cancer, because of so many years of smoking. Is there any health screening to see if she has lung cancer? This constant hacking really has me worried.
This is a great question that most doctors can not answer today. The truth is that historically there has not been a good screening test, as with most tests you are exposing people to extra radiation, and finding very few early cancers; however, there is recent research that has suggested that people who are at very high risk, such as your mother, with long smoking histories, may benefit from a low dose CAT Scan of the lungs to find early tumors. You should have your mother see a lung specialist who is aware of some of the recent studies and who can give her a recommendation as to whether it is suitable for her.
To learn more about lung cancer screening, watch this video from VideoMD.com.
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