Jill Feldman, 56, learned at a young age that lung cancer doesn’t only affect people who smoke. Feldman lost her father and two grandparents to the disease before she turned 13. Her mother and aunt died of lung cancer when she was in her 20s. And Feldman herself was diagnosed at age 39.
Now, she considers herself an advocate for awareness. “It was fueled by loss, not a diagnosis,” Feldman says of her advocacy. In 2000, the Deerfield resident tried to find a walk, event, or organization where she could direct dollars toward lung cancer research but instead found a staggering lack of lung cancer community.
Eventually, Feldman co-founded her own organization: EGFR Resisters. The group named itself after a key protein in EGFR-positive lung cancer that drives cancer cell survival and proliferation. And since 2017, the organization has held research- and patient-focused summits, managed an online support group, and funded research.
When Feldman was diagnosed in 2009, there were no lung cancer screening guidelines, so she had never been screened. A pulmonologist recommended she get baseline scans anyway, and two years later, in 2011, evidence from the National Lung Cancer Screening Trial led to screening guidelines. “I am still, to this day, not eligible for what is being recommended for screening. I do not fit the profile,” she says.
Those guidelines include yearly screening with a low-dose CT scan for people aged 50 to 80 years who currently smoke or used to smoke, and who have what the American Cancer Society and others call a “20 pack-year” smoking history. This means they either smoke at least one pack of cigarettes per day for 20 years, or they smoke two packs per day for 10 years. Medicare only reimburses for adults who meet those conditions.
“That’s based on large, randomized data,” says Mary Fidler, MD, medical oncology section chief at Rush University Medical Center. “I don’t think we’re screening enough patients. [And] we still don’t know exactly who should be screened and when.”
Currently, only about 20% of eligible people undergo annual lung cancer screenings, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 2025.
Environmental factors further complicate the picture. Researchers have linked long-term radon exposure, air pollution, and inhalation of small particles to lung cancer. “There are certainly other risk factors,” Fidler says. “We need awareness that anyone can get lung cancer. More research is necessary to delve into the screening question, prevent late-stage cancers, and improve outcomes for everyone who gets diagnosed.”
For people who do not meet Medicare criteria, some health systems offer a low-cost, self-pay CT screening option.
Researchers are still trying to determine whether some people with strong family histories should receive genetic testing similar to that offered for breast and ovarian cancer. “We don’t know for sure who should be screened for inheritable risk,” Fidler says. “But there are investigations underway.”
Tobacco still causes most lung cancers — but not all. And as wildfires burn hotter over larger areas, people need to be aware of the disease’s environmental risk factors. “More patients are getting diagnosed who either did not smoke at all or have quit smoking,” Fidler says. “There are certainly other factors in play.”
The focus on lung cancer’s link to smoking often overshadows the human toll. “The minute you point out someone has lung cancer, the first thing people say is, ‘Did they smoke?’” Feldman says. “We lose sight of the person behind the disease.”
Instead, she proposes changing the language around lung cancer entirely. Words matter, and Feldman has many reasons to move the conversation beyond whether someone smokes.
One reason: Labeling every single person with lung cancer by their smoking history creates a binary of guilt or innocence. “[It] perpetuates a harmful narrative that is profound and far reaching,” Feldman says.
It also oversimplifies lung cancer’s complex reality. Lung cancer has multiple risk factors, including:
Feldman says, “Only talking about smoking leaves the public with a false sense of security that if they don’t smoke, they won’t get lung cancer.”
Fidler echoes that concern. She says the stigma persists in part because of the history of cigarette marketing, social acceptance, and later backlash. “We should treat all patients equally, whether there’s a smoking history or not,” she says. As Feldman often reminds people: “You just need lungs to get lung cancer.”
Despite being the leading cause of cancer death in the United States, according to the American Lung Association, lung cancer receives fewer research dollars and less public attention than other major cancers.
“Lung cancer kills more women than breast cancer does, but the research dollars are not matched up,” Fidler says. Awareness, she adds, is also far behind.
“We are so far behind in research because, despite [lung cancer] being the no. 1 cancer killer, it is underfunded, in large part because of the stigma. Advocates are working hard to gather evidence so other risk factors will be included in screening,” Feldman says. And though her frustration is apparent, she adds, “We will get there.”
Feldman urges people with family histories or environmental risks to advocate for themselves. “If you feel like something’s wrong, talk to your doctor,” she says. “It takes eight seconds [for the CT scan]. It’s the easiest diagnostic you will ever have.”
She understands deeply how research has changed survival probabilities. “I am alive because of research,” Feldman says. “I’ve seen all four of my kids grow up. That’s the hope and progress we have.”
Feldman’s parents didn’t have the same opportunity. Her dad died within three months of his diagnosis, and her mom six months after her own diagnosis. “Because of advancements in imaging, technology, and drug development, I have lived to celebrate moments and milestones that were stolen from my parents and me because they didn’t have the options I have.”
Though the field has come a long way, commitments to research keep it going. “It’s almost hard to keep up,” Fidler says. Immunotherapy transformed treatment roughly a decade ago, but she says the most dramatic new advances are emerging in small-cell lung cancer, a notoriously aggressive form. “We’ve [recently] seen progress in small-cell lung cancer that didn’t match what we saw for 25 years.”
Targeted therapies are also expanding as scientists identify new genetic drivers of tumors. “We’ve seen a large development and approval of new treatments targeting specific gene proteins,” Fidler says.
Feldman wants people to rethink their assumptions. She adds, “My biggest risk factor is family history. That’s all I say.” And she hopes people are listening.
Don’t stress out about overeating during the holidays. A dietitian explains how a day of…
Support may fade after crisis strikes, but the need for connection persists Family caregivers, what…
Costs and choices shift for upcoming Medicare coverage Seniors selecting Medicare coverage for 2026 will…
Pneumonia vaccines for adults are now recommended starting at age 50 – a geriatrician explains…
Most of us think about brain health only when there’s a problem. But research shows…
How cloves might help relieve pain and inflammation By Dipa Kamdar, Kingston University (Above image:…
This website uses cookies.