I am female and at age 69, I was diagnosed with lung cancer. A 1 cm tumor was discovered in my right upper lobe by a chest x-ray that I had because I was short of breath. Had I not mentioned this to my doctor, I would be dead today because insurance authorizes x-rays only if medically necessary and of course we realize that by the time lung cancer has symptoms, it is too late. My cancer was diagnosed at stage 1 and I am fine at age 76. Let's start a lobby for more routine x-rays. I realize they are expensive but so is cancer treatment and what is a human life worth?
