As the old saying goes, \u201cIf you\u2019re not early, you\u2019re late.\u201d<\/p>\n
Those are good words to live by when you\u2019re talking about screening for cancer \u2013 lung cancer,<\/a> in particular.<\/p>\n Almost 25% of cancer deaths in the United States are due to lung cancer. Statistics from the American Cancer Society<\/a> show lung cancer kills more than breast, colon and prostate cancers combined.<\/p>\n But studies show that when lung cancer is caught and treated in Stage 1 or 2,<\/a> you increase your five-year survival rate by 59%. That\u2019s almost double your chances to survive if the cancer isn\u2019t discovered until it has advanced to Stage 3 or 4.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong>And this is critical:<\/strong> If you\u2019re at risk for lung cancer, get screened before you start having symptoms.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n \u201cPeople who are having symptoms have likely already progressed to advanced stages. You want to get screened before you have symptoms,\u201d said Matt Burton, manager of medical imaging for OSF HealthCare<\/a>. \u201cDon\u2019t wait until you start coughing up blood.\u201d<\/p>\n