Local doctor discusses importance of receiving lung cancer screenings

WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) - November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month, and health officials across the country are raising awareness about the disease, which, excluding skin cancer, is the second most common cancer in both men and women in the U.S., according to the American Cancer Society.

Dr. Mustafa Abugideiri, with Novant Health, spoke with WECT about the importance of screening for lung cancer.

“So we know that lung cancer is a leading cause of cancer related mortality, and lung cancer screening can really help reduce the risk of dying from lung cancer,” Abugideiri said. “So there are lots of different guidelines out there on who should get screened, but the American Cancer Society recently released a new guideline that states anyone who’s aged 50 to 80 with a 20 pack year history should get an annual low dose CAT scan of their chest for lung cancer screening.”

According to Abugideiri, a person with a “20 pack year history” is someone who has smoked a pack of cigarettes everyday for 20 years, or two packs a day over the course of 10 years.

“So in general, there are lots of people in United States who meet criteria for getting lung cancer screening, but unfortunately, those numbers are lower than where they should be. So really, I highly recommend people talk with their primary care doctor about whether they qualify for getting lung cancer screening,” Abugideiri added.

The full interview with Dr. Mustafa Abugideiri can be found at the top of this story.

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