Each year, more people die of lung cancer than of colon, breast, and prostate cancers combined, making lung cancer the leading cause of cancer death. Most people with lung cancer don’t have symptoms until the cancer is advanced. Getting screened for the disease is the best way to detect it early, when treatment is most effective. 

You may be a candidate for screening if you:

• Are between 50 and 77 years old
• Smoke now or have quit within the past 15 years

Smoking (including secondhand smoke) is the number one risk factor for lung cancer.

About 80% of lung cancer deaths are thought to result from smoking. The risk of lung cancer for people who smoke is many times higher than for people who don't smoke. 

• The longer you smoke and the more packs a day you smoke, the greater your risk
• Smoking only a few cigarettes a day or smoking occasionally increases the risk of lung cancer
• Even if you don’t smoke, breathing in the smoke of others can increase your risk of developing lung cancer

Most people with lung cancer don’t have symptoms until the cancer is advanced. If you are at risk, you should be screened to find cancer early (even before you have symptoms), when treatment is more effective.

Some people have symptoms related to the lungs. Some people whose lung cancer has spread to other parts of the body (metastasized) have symptoms specific to that part of the body. Some people just have general symptoms of not feeling well. 

Lung cancer symptoms may include—

• Coughing that gets worse or doesn’t go away
• Chest pain
• Shortness of breath
• Wheezing
• Coughing up blood
• Feeling very tired all the time
• Weight loss with no known cause