Catching cancer early -- When should you get a lung cancer screening?

DETROIT (FOX 2) - Over the last decade, lung cancer survivorship has increased by 10%, partially because of better therapies and early detection.

"Lung cancer kills more people than breast, colon, and prostate cancers combined," said Dr. Andrew Popoff, a thoracic surgeon at the Henry Ford Cancer Institute. "The earlier we find cancer, the earlier stage, the more treatable they are."

It was a CT scan screening that helped Vic Thompson catch lung cancer at stage one.

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"I just was thinking, ‘I’ve been smoking for 60 years.' I saw the advertising about the screening, and so I went," he said. "They determined that there was a small spot and the PET scan confirms that it's cancerous."

Shortly after his diagnosis, Popoff performed a procedure on Thompson in September 2020, and he remains cancer free.

"I never took a pain pill after I left the hospital. Had no pain whatsoever, my breathing was fine," he said. "The doctor said, ‘You’re going to be back to 100% in no time, and the lungs will make up for the lost 20%,’" and they have. I feel great."

Popoff said there are guidelines for those who should get a lung cancer screening.

"Patients age 50-80 with a 20-year pack history of smoking who either currently smoke or who have quit within 15 years," he said.

The screening includes a low-dose CT scan once a year for three years If a spot is found early, a surgical procedure is your best method of treatment.

"Eighty to 85% of the time we’re doing that minimally invasively with a camera and tiny instruments through small incisions on the patient's side, either thoracoscopically or with a small robot," Popoff said.

There’s also therapies that are showing potential for treatment of lung cancer in advanced stages.

Thompson said he’s grateful his cancer was detected early, so he can enjoy the simple pleasures of life, like cooking for family and walking by the lake, and he encourages others to talk to their doctor about lung cancer screening.

"I really do believe it saved my life," he said.