Every year, nearly 8,000 Veterans are diagnosed with lung cancer, a staggering reminder of the disease’s frequency. VA’s emphasis on early detection is changing lives by providing every eligible Veteran with systematic, integrated and equitable access to high-quality lung cancer screening.
With early detection, the survival rate for this type of cancer is high. Lung cancer screening is done with a painless, low-dose CT scan that only takes five minutes.
You may qualify for lung cancer screening if you:
- Are 50 to 80-years old.
- Smoke cigarettes now or quit within the past 15 years.
- Smoked cigarettes for at least 20 pack-years.
A “pack year” is an estimate of how many tobacco products you have smoked in your lifetime. Twenty “pack years” equals smoking one pack of cigarettes a day for 20 years or two packs of cigarettes a day for 10 years.
Get screened!
November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month and VA is proud to join in the fourth annual National Lung Cancer Screening (LCS) Day to raise awareness about this essential preventive measure.
VA facilities nationwide will engage in lung cancer screening awareness outreach efforts Nov. 3 to 12. Enrolled Veterans are encouraged to contact their primary care providers and participate in the week’s events to prioritize their lung health. VA remains steadfast in improving Veterans’ lives through early detection and comprehensive care.
If you are a Veteran between 50- and 80-years old and are a current or former smoker, contact your local VA health care provider to find out if lung cancer screening is right for you.
To learn more about how VA works to expand access and reduce barriers to cancer care and screening at VA, visit Cancer.va.gov.
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I had a chest scan three weeks ago, and still have not received the results, so good luck with preventative measures when it takes more than three weeks to even get the results. Even with a 65lbs weight loss in the last year, lumps on my rib cage and under my arm, there is still no sense of urgency. Still waiting…
Thanks VA. In October 2024, had my annual CT Scan. In past years, radiologists saw some small marks within my left lung; then informed me that they would like to follow up annually to see if those spots changed. Well, in October 2024, I was called by an oncologist, stating one spot had grown. A PET Scan was then scheduled and that area lite up (before a PET Scan the patient is injected with some sort of radiation that attaches itself to cancer cells).
Within days, I was scheduled to see the oncologist, a radiologist, and a thoracic surgeon, to help me decide my best course of action. Each was very frank, and stated that lung cancer was very serious and very common. Ultimately, I decided to have the thoracic surgeon remove my upper left lung lobe. That surgeon stated that the gold standard procedure of early lung cancer detection was an operation known as a lobectomy. I chose the lobectomy. On 29 April 2025, I had the lung lobe removal surgery. After the surgery, I spent seven days in my VA hospital. The thoracic surgeon was an active duty Army officer; an amazing internal body engineer. On 6 May 2025, I was released and spent another month in my recliner, daily activities and sleeping were restricted to the recliner. I spread all sorts of pillows all over the recliner to help relieve pressure on different parts of my body. You see, while recovering in the hospital I had tubes inserted through my upper left back to drain fluid and air from my left lung. In July 2025, Thoracic Surgery Clinic at my VA hospital, sent me to a local hospital (Community Care) to receive Pulmonary Rehabilitation for my lungs. I am still attending but the rehabilitation sessions will terminate on 22 Dec 2025. I will have attended at total of 36 sessions, 1-hour in duration. During this time, I have been undergoing chemotherapy as an adjuvant treatment to enhance the lobectomy of my left lung.
The greatest care in the world can be obtained at the VA. Thank You VA!
What if my mother & father smoked my mother smoked even after being diagnosed with cold but eventually stopped so I was breathing in all this smoke should I be checked
Why am I seeing this two weeks after the fact? I would’ve liked to do this but it’s too late. Get your act together, VA.
I have never smoked however 2 out of the 3 ships I was stationed on allowed smoking in the work center. Should I be concerned?
I had a CT scan back in Oct 2025 for a unrelated reason and they found a “nodule” on my lung and sent a letter on it. I am now in AZ and am going to follow up on it with a Pulmonologist.