Date Published: 11/17/2020 [Source]
Florida trails dozens of other states in lung-cancer screenings among high-risk populations and lags in patients getting treatment for the disease, but the state's five-year survival rate for lung cancer remains above average, according to a report released Tuesday by the American Lung Association.
Nationally, only 5.7 percent of high-risk patients obtain screenings; in Florida, that rate was 3.2 percent. People are considered high risk if they are between ages 55 and 80 and are current smokers; if they have quit in the past 15 years; or if they have a 30-pack history of smoking, whether one pack a day for 30 years, two packs a day for 15 years or three packs a day for 10 years.
Florida also lags nationally in treatment for lung cancer. The report shows that 19 percent of Florida patients diagnosed with lung cancer receive no treatment for the disease. That compares to 15.2 percent nationally.
But Florida's five-year survival rate is 24.1 percent, which surpasses the national rate of 22.6 percent, which American Lung Association Eastern Division Vice President of Health Promotions Brenda Olsen acknowledged seems contradictory.
Lung cancer is the deadliest of all cancers, but early detection is considered a key to increasing five-year survival rates. The American Lung Association estimates that 18,150 Florida residents and 228,000 people nationwide will be diagnosed with the disease in 2020.
The report does not reflect the potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. With people delaying routine health care during the pandemic, those diagnosis estimates could be high.
Risk factors associated with lung cancer include smoking, exposure to radon gas, air pollution and secondhand smoke. The American Lung Association maintains that new lung cancer rates can be reduced in a number of ways, including increased tobacco taxes, which it contends would reduce the percentage of smokers. Other ways include providing access to comprehensive smoking cessation and radon testing and mitigation.