American Lung Association Releases Second Annual “State of Lung Cancer” Report

The American Lung Association (lung.org) recently released their second annual “State of Lung Cancer” report, which examines the toll of lung cancer throughout the nation and outlines steps every state can take to better protect its residents from lung cancer. The American Lung Association seeks to continue the positive trend of increased lung cancer survival by educating the community with the reports’ findings. According to the report, the nationwide five-year lung cancer survival rate of 21.7% is up from 17.2% where it was a decade ago. This reflects a 26% improvement over the past 10 years. In Nebraska, the survival rate is 20.6%, which is below the national average.

Part of the reason lung cancer is so deadly is because most lung cancer cases are diagnosed at a later stage after the disease has spread. Lung cancer screening is the key to early detection when the disease is most curable, but only 21.5% of lung cancer cases nationally are diagnosed at an early stage. Low-dose CT screening tests have been available since 2015, yet only 3.2% of those eligible in Nebraska have been screened. Taking advantage of this simple lung cancer screening test can save lives.

For more information about the American Lung Association or to learn more about the “State of Lung Cancer” report, visit Lung.org/solc.