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Because most people who get lung cancer were smokers, you may feel like doctors and other people assume that you are or were a smoker (even if you aren’t or weren’t). Whether or not you were a smoker, it’s important for you to protect your body now from smoke. Avoid secondhand smoke from smokers near you. If you smoke, talk with an expert about quitting. It’s never too late to quit. Quitting can help cancer treatments work better. It may also reduce the chance of getting another cancer. To get help with quitting smoking… ■ Go online to Smokefree.gov. ■ Call NCI’s Smoking Quitline at 1-877-44U-QUIT (1-877-448-7848). ■ Sign up for the free mobile service SmokefreeTXT to get tips and encouragement to quit. To sign up, text the word QUIT to IQUIT (47848) from your mobile phone. Or, go to http://smokefree.gov/smokefreetxt/ Signup.aspx. Staging Tests After you learn that you have lung cancer, you may need staging tests to help with decisions about treatment. Staging tests can show the stage (extent) of lung cancer, such as whether cancer cells have spread to other parts of the body. When lung cancer spreads, cancer cells are often found in nearby lymph nodes. Lung cancer cells can spread from the 5 lung to almost any other part of the body, such as the brain, bones, other lung, liver, or adrenal gland. Staging tests may include… ■ CT scan: An x-ray machine linked to a computer takes a series of detailed pictures of your chest, abdomen, brain, or other parts of your body. You’ll receive contrast material by injection into a blood vessel in your arm or hand. For a CT scan of the abdomen, you may receive contrast material by mouth also. The contrast material makes abnormal areas easier to see. The pictures from a CT scan can show the lung tumor’s size. The pictures can also show cancer that has spread to your liver, adrenal glands, brain, or other organs. ■ PET scan: Your doctor may use a PET scan to get a better view of the tumor in the lung or to find cancer that has spread. You’ll receive an injection of a small amount of radioactive sugar. A machine makes computerized pictures of the sugar being used by cells in the body. Because cancer cells use sugar faster than normal cells, areas with cancer cells look brighter on the pictures. ■ MRI: A strong magnet linked to a computer is used to make detailed pictures of your head or spine. An MRI can show whether cancer has spread to these areas. Sometimes contrast material is used to make abnormal areas show up more clearly on the picture. ■ Bone scan: A small amount of a radioactive substance will be injected into a blood vessel. The radioactive substance travels through your bloodstream and collects in the bones. A machine called a scanner detects and measures the radiation. The scanner makes pictures of your bones. Because higher amounts of the radioactive 6 substance collect in areas where cancer is present, the pictures can show cancer that has spread to the bones. Other tests may be needed. For example, your doctor may remove samples of lymph nodes or other tissues to see whether lung cancer has spread.
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