Is 52 Too Young To Have A Lung Cancer Screening?

Posted on Fri, 14 Aug 2020

Question: Is 52 too young to have a lung cancer screening? My mom has lung cancer and so did her brother. Unfortunately I am a smoker, but no one know I smoke. I know I’m pathetic, but I e been smoking since college. My mom hasn’t smoked in over 50 years but they found it when they were doing scans of her heart. Any advice is very much appreciated!

Answered by Dr. Lekshmi Rita Venugopal (2 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Low dose CT scan can be considered

Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Thank you for trusting us for your health query

Lung cancer is usually not caused by genetics alone. However, some genetic factors with smoking can put you at high risk.
Lung cancer screening in smokers is usually done from age 55 onwards with low dose CT scan. However, since you have multiple risk factors, you can talk to your doctor regarding starting screening earlier.
Please be advised to quit smoking as well and seek help if needed.

Hope this answers your question
Please address additional questions here
Regards
Dr.Lekshmi Rita Venugopal

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Nagamani Ng