Breast screening programmes to detect BC early are great - but...
 

I'm in venting mode....

Most developped countries have breast screening programmes for females to detect breast cancer early, since early detection can prevent most deaths from it.

No gripe.

75% of lung cancers are not life threatening, but the 25% that remain are killers. The metastatic site is preferentially the brain. Not good.

Almost all lung cancers are only detected when there are symptoms. This is not like feeling a lump or anything, but stuff like coughing blood.

Only 5% of patients confirmed with lung cancer after detection from symptoms survive after 5 years.

Another way, if you have symtpoms of lung cancer and you are diagnosed with lung cancer, you have a 95% chance of being dead within 5 years.

90% of lung cancers can be treated early so that 5-year survival rates are near 80%.

Am I stupid or missing something here, but why is there not a massive screening programme for lung cancer?

And before you frikken idiots start, yes my friend never smoked, and yes she rarely coughed, and yes one day when she coughed it had some blood in it and yes, it was not good and yes she is now fighting to try to get into that 5% that live > 5years.

Life is not fair.

We've lost three to lung cancer in the past 5 years.

i am doomed by genetics to cancer i am slowly just accepting it.

It's hard being a doctor. You see, to treat a disease you have to read 5 pages about how to do it. Not only that, you have to memorize thousands of different diseases. Besides, it's hard to fully understand how all the healing machines work. You'd have to be a machinist, or something.

Good rant. The patient has to ask for the tests...

I'm getting mine next week - the doc explained his reasoning (not an official stance but why he things this isn't a widespread screening thing) that a chest x-ray exposed all your vital organs to the radiation and so should be limited to "only when necessary" but he does agree everyone >60yrs who smoked he offers them this every 5 years.

When asked about these backscatter xray scanners in airports - his answer was "they're not yet compulsory anywhere, so I'd opt for a pat down" (for the same reason)