A widespread assumption keeps people out of lung cancer screening rooms: that quitting cigarettes ends the need for a scan. The federal guideline says otherwise. Eligibility continues for 15 full years after a person's last cigarette, and roughly four out of five adults who qualify are not getting screened.
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends annual screening with low-dose computed tomography for adults aged 50 to 80 who have at least a 20-pack-year smoking history and who either currently smoke or quit within the past 15 years. A pack-year is the equivalent of smoking one pack a day for a year, so 20 pack-years could be one pack daily for two decades or two packs daily for a decade.
