ROCKVILLE, MD – Smokers got a double boost today in heading off their risk of dying from lung cancer. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), a panel of experts who examine the value of a variety of screening methods and the guidelines for using them, gave a thumbs up to using a yearly CT scan to screen for lung cancers.
The guidelines the task force approved are for adults ages 55-79 who have 30 pack years of smoking or who have quit within the last 15 years. A pack year is smoking a pack of cigarettes a day for one year. So if you smoke two packs a day for 15 years, you would have a 30-pack-year smoking history.
