November is National Lung Cancer Awareness Month, with doctors encouraging people to get screened if they are eligible.
Of all those eligible for screening, only 17% actually do it.
Teri Cannon is the executive director of A Breath of Hope.
"So, we know that if we can at least spread the word and get the people that do meet that criteria, being smokers or past smokers, 50-years-old or older, if they can go in for that annual lung screening, we are going to save so many more lives," explains Cannon.
Because the earlier cancer is detected, the more likely it can be cured.
Dr. Anuja Sharma is with Allina. She says a lack of awareness and fear keep people away.
"They're anxious, they're concerned," she explains. "What if they find cancer? But that's the whole point, is that if we detect it early, we can treat it much better."
Sharma says it pays off.
"People undergo lung cancer screening, almost 60 to 70% of lung cancers are detected in stage one and two with lung cancer screening versus if they're detected otherwise. Then we're about 20% at stage one," Sharma adds.
She says the screening involves patients getting a low-dose CT scan of the chest, which takes only around five minutes.
Early detection is key to treatment even if you've been a smoker
Early detection is key to treatment even if you've been a smoker
