THE EVERETT ADVOCATE – FRiDAy, OCTObER 17, 2025 Page 11 If You Smoked or Still Do This 60-Second Screening Could Save Your Life By Harold Wimmer, President and CEO of the American Lung Association D enise Lee smoked up to two packs a day for 40 years, but when she quit at 54, Denise made one more lifesaving decision. After seeing an American Lung Association billboard that read “If you smoked, this lung cancer screening could save your life,” Denise scheduled a low-dose CT scan. The next day, her results came back: a mass was detected, which they later confirmed was lung cancer. When she scheduled the scan, Denise had yet to develop a single symptom – and catching her lung cancer that early meant she had multiple treatments available. It’s been eight years since, and Denise remains cancer-free. Lung cancer screening is a simple, quick, painless and non-invasive procedure. A lowdose CT scan takes less than a minute and, as Denise knows, it could save your life. I’ve dedicated my life to advocating for healthy lungs, starting as a regional program director of the American Lung Association all the way to my current position as president and CEO. As such, I want anyone and everyone – especially those who’ve smoked – to know how easy and eff ective a screening is. While we continue to make significant strides, lung cancer remains the top cause of cancer deaths in the U.S. – yet about only one quarter of lung cancer cases are caught early, when fi ve-year survival rates are over 60%. Lung cancer often grows silently without any symptoms, which is precisely why early detection is so important and can lead to more effective treatment. But over 80% of high-risk current and former smokers haven’t been scanned. Screenings are recommended for high-risk individuals – that includes current smokers, those who quit within the last 15 years, or ex-smokers between the ages of 50 and 80 who smoked a pack a day for 20 years (known as ‘20 pack years’) or the equivalent, such as two packs a day for 10 years. With recent medical advances, lung cancer screenings can now be conducted using lowdose CT scans. Patients simply lie down on a table while an open imaging machine takes pictures to examine lung health. Less than a minENOUGO G OUGH IS OUG IS S S ute long, the screening is completely painless, and most private insurance plans cover the test, as does Medicare. Of course, no one wants to hear that they may have lung cancer. But the head start afforded by a screening can make all the difference and open the door to more treatment options – from surgery to chemotherapy to newer advances like targeted therapy and immunotherapy. Early detection has turned lung cancer from a terminal diagnosis into an eminently treatable condition. In the past 10 years, these scans have saved 80,000 years of life – that’s nearly thirty-million more days spent with loved ones and friends. If every high-risk individual had been screened for lung cancer between 2013 and 2020, PUBLIC SERVICE SHOULDN’T MEAN SELF-SERVICEUB C SERVICE SHOULDN’T MEAN SELF-SERVICE PUBLIC SERVICE SHOULDN’T MEAN S PUBL C S RVICE SHOULDN’T MEAN SELFSER CE PUBLIC SERVICE SHOULDNT MEAN SELF-SERVICE UBLIC SERVICE SHOULDN’T MEAN SELF-SERVICE B C S R CE SHOULDNT MEAN SELF-SERVIC S BLIC SERVICE SHOULDN’T MEAN SELFSERVICE S R OUGH IS ENO C S OU D S ENO D ’ CE SHOULDNT MEAN SELF-S R C O GH S OUGO G OUG G A -S S S CE Mayor Carlo DeMaria was supposed to serve the people of Everett—not himself. Instead, an independent state investigation found he took $180,000 in improper “longevity” bonuses, which were kept hidden from the city council and the public. He even pocketed $30,000 in advance—before the law he pushed through for himself was ever on the books. “Mayor DeMaria used his position to unjustly enrich himself by orchestrating a city ordinance that provided him with a considerable bonus.”* “The City improperly paid Mayor DeMaria $30,000 in retroactive longevity payments before the ordinance was enacted.”* that number could have been more than six times higher — half a million years of life saved. If you think you might be at risk, it’s now easier than ever to fi nd out. Visit SavedByTheScan.org and take a brief quiz to fi nd out whether you’re eligible for a low-dose CT scan. One in fi ve people who took the quiz found out they were at high risk. I joined the American Lung Association nearly five decades ago. I’m proud to have witnessed the enormous progress we’ve made against lung cancer. But there’s more work to do and that starts with more people getting scanned. If your lungs could talk, they’d tell you to talk to your doctor and ask about lung cancer screenings. Taking just a couple minutes to hear them out could save your life. “Mayor DeMaria and his administration concealed the Mayor’s longevity payments from the council and the public.”* “....members of Mayor DeMaria’s administration failed in their public duties and instead took actions that financially benefited the mayor at the city’s expense.”* Citations: * Massachusetts Inspector General Report 2/27/25 PAID FOR BY VAN CAMPEN COMMITTEE
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