I’m 63 years old and a former smoker—I smoked for 20 years but quit over 30 years ago. Cigarette smoking has always been part of my life. Both my parents smoked for many years, with my mother dying of lung cancer in 2019 and my father from chronic bronchitis and emphysema 21 years ago. In addition, I grew up in a coal mining town in western Pennsylvania, even living above a smoke-filled tavern. I certainly checked all the boxes.
In 2025, my "Word of the Year" was “self-care,” and getting a low-dose CT scan was on my list. That decision saved my life. The January scan revealed a small, suspicious nodule—no symptoms, no warning signs. After a PET scan and an inconclusive biopsy, surgery was recommended. Because it was small and self-contained, they were able to robotically remove only a small portion of my lower left lobe.
It was confirmed to be cancer—adenocarcinoma, 0.3 cm, no larger than a grain of rice. Because it was caught so early, the extraction was the cure. I didn’t need chemotherapy or radiation.
Without that initial screening, I likely wouldn’t have known until it was too late. If you qualify, please get screened. It is the best decision you could make—and it could save your life.
