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State near national average for lung cancer survival

PRE News & Ideas | By George Olsen
Published November 13, 2019 at 4:06 PM EST
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North Carolina ranks near the nationwide average for lung cancer survival rates. The American Lung Association released its annual State of Lung Cancer report, which shows the nationwide five-year lung cancer survival rate at 21.7%, just slightly above North Carolina’s rate of 21.5%. Nationally survivor rates have improved 26% over the last decade.  The American Lung Association says early screening correlates to higher survival rates. Nationally only 21.5% of lung cancer cases are diagnosed at an early stage, with North Carolina at the same rate. North Carolina is screening high-risk patients at a higher rate than the national average, though the state’s rate is only 6% compared to a national average of 4.2%. Only four states reported screening more than 10% of high-risk patients.

lung cancerAmerican Lung Association
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George Olsen
George Olsen is a 1977 Havelock High School graduate. He received his B.A. in Broadcast Journalism from the University of South Carolina in 1982 where he got his first taste of non-commercial radio working for their student station WUSC. After graduation he worked about five years in commercial radio before coming to work at Public Radio East where he has remained since outside of a nearly 3-year stint as jazz and operations coordinator at WUAL in Tuscaloosa, Alabama in the early 1990s. On his return to eastern North Carolina he hosted classical music for Public Radio East before moving into the Morning Edition host position and now can be heard on All Things Considered. He also hosts and produces The Sound, five hours of Americana, Roots Rock and Contemporary Folk weekday evenings on PRE Public Radio East News & Ideas, and is a news and feature producer for Public Radio East.
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