(WXYZ) — In today’s Health Alert, the survival rate for the leading cause of cancer deaths is on the rise. Lung cancer kills roughly 136,000 people every year here in the US. But a new report by the American Lung Association found survival rates improved significantly over a five-year period, especially for communities of color.
I’m quite happy to share this encouraging news from the American Lung Association. Because lung cancer is the third most diagnosed cancer here in the US, yet it has one of the lowest survival rates.
Now the Association’s report found that between 2015 and 2019, the five-year survival rate for lung cancer increased by 22% nationally. Data showed roughly 26.6% of those diagnosed with lung cancer lived at least five years. That was for all racial and ethnic groups combined.
However, breaking it down by communities of color, we also see encouraging trends. The survival rate for Black Americans rose from 18% to 21%. And for Indigenous peoples and Hispanics, where the rate was previously 19% for both groups, it has now risen to 22% and 23%, respectively.
As for Asian Americans, the survival rate jumped from 23.4% to 29% in just over two years. Their rate is even higher than that of white Americans, which is 25%.
Lung cancer can be effectively treated in a variety of ways, for example, surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, targeted therapy, and immunotherapy. Advances in treatment are surely having an impact. For instance, immunotherapy is a newer treatment that uses drugs and other therapies to activate the immune system to fight off cancer.
But one thing that can really save lives is to get screened. According to the American Lung Association, lung cancer deaths could be reduced by up to 20% if people at risk were to get a low-dose CT scan. It’s a quick and painless procedure. Eligible candidates include people between the ages of 50 and 80 who have a history of smoking one pack of cigarettes daily for twenty years or two packs daily for ten years.
Now, many people think they can skip screenings if they don’t have symptoms. But that’s a bad idea because lung cancer often doesn’t cause symptoms until the disease is advanced. Those symptoms are:
- Persistent new cough
- Shortness of breath
- Chest pain
- Hoarseness
- Unexplained weight loss
- Coughing up any amount of blood
- Bone pain and
- Headache
Remember, the most effective way to prevent lung cancer is not to smoke or stop smoking. Also, avoid secondhand smoke, eat a nutritious diet, and exercise regularly. I also recommend testing your home for radon, as high levels can lead to lung cancer as well.
