Wellness

[chessylady]

Medicare sent me an email regarding scanning for lung cancer. I discussed it with my doctor today at my annual physical. Next week I have an eappointment with an education specialist. I was a heavy smoker for 20 years until I quit in 1990. My mother had breast cancer and later got lung cancer. My dad developed both bladder cancer and prostate cancer. They were strong but suffered quite a bit. The low dose CT scan would be done annually. My doctor cautioned about false positives and possibly revealing problems with other organs. My view is that if something can be detected early, it is more treatable. I live alone and do not want to get too sick to care for myself. Has anyone had the lung scan and did it detect cancer at an early stage? Or did you have false positives?

[simplyfriends]

@chessylady  check with your insurance company (supplement) before doing the scan.  The fact that you quit smoking 36 years ago they may not cover it (unless your havings symptoms such as coughing etc).  I work in healthcare and scans are being ordered regularly but Medicare is cracking down on it.  

[chessylady]

Thanks. I have Kaiser but I will ask at my consult appointment next week to see if it will be free for me.

[cindyNC]

@chessylady  My BF was a heavy smoker for many many years and quit 2 years into our relationship of 24 years.  He has had the preventive scan.  One nodule showed up, but read as non-cancerous. I was so glad he had the scan! He still has residual effects from the smoking.......copd and emphysema. 

[catter70]

I quit smoking in 2011. I've had lung scans now for many years and in 2020, a mass was detected in my lung. I'm not sure what it was, but it keeps shrinking, but now I go 2 times a year with fingers crossed that there is nothing wrong. I do ,though, have COPD. I have Medicare and AARP and never have had any issues.

[CalminHeart]

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@chessylady wrote:

Medicare sent me an email regarding scanning for lung cancer. I discussed it with my doctor today at my annual physical. Next week I have an eappointment with an education specialist. I was a heavy smoker for 20 years until I quit in 1990. My mother had breast cancer and later got lung cancer. My dad developed both bladder cancer and prostate cancer. They were strong but suffered quite a bit. The low dose CT scan would be done annually. My doctor cautioned about false positives and possibly revealing problems with other organs. My view is that if something can be detected early, it is more treatable. I live alone and do not want to get too sick to care for myself. Has anyone had the lung scan and did it detect cancer at an early stage? Or did you have false positives?

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I haven't received a letter but this is interesting to me too. I smoked 2 packs a day for years prior to quitting in 1981. I have some minor lung issues now. I have my annual medicare checkup coming in a few months so I'll ask about it. 

[Still Raining]

I would do it so they can doublecheck for anything going on.  Several years ago I ended up in ER and a scan showed unknown neck cancer, in very early stages, and a brain aneurysm.  I thank my lucky stars for that fall.

[SilleeMee]

Unbeknownst to me, until recently, I have been living in my house with veryt high levels of radon for over thirty years now. Part of that time I was a smoker, too, and that amplifies the risk for lung cancer. I need to get a lung scan and get my house fixed also. Ugh.

[RedTop]

My husband had a yearly lung CT at the VA for over 15+ years due to being a smoker as well as having benign growths in both lungs that were being monitored.  By his choice, this, and other tests were stopped once he was diagnosed with a terminal type of cancer.  

[conlt]

I would do it. My doctor asked my about my smoking history. I smoked x 24 years, Started young in the early 1970's when it was a thing, and quite in 1996. I also lived in a house full of cigar smoke.. My dad was a heavy cigar smoker. He developed lung cancer. 

My doctor said that I quit early enough and did not qualify for the extra screening. 

If I did qualify, I would definitely get it done. 

I agree, the earlier they find something the better.

A year and a half ago, I was in the ER for abdominal problems. They ended up doing a scan and I was happy. They did not scan my lungs, but my abdomen and pelvis. Everything was good, they were worried about my Pancreas, but it was good. 

My GI doctors thinks I passes a Gall stone that day. 

I was happy to have the scan though.