{"id":7864,"date":"2025-06-07T20:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-06-07T20:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7864"},"modified":"2025-06-07T20:30:00","modified_gmt":"2025-06-07T20:30:00","slug":"veterans-benefit-from-early-lung-cancer-detection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7864","title":{"rendered":"Veterans benefit from early lung cancer detection"},"content":{"rendered":"

Originally published:<\/strong> 2025-06-07T20:30:00+00:00. Historical source article: benefits, rules, amounts and deadlines may have changed. Check the official source for current information.<\/p>\n

Veterans are at risk for developing lung cancer<\/a> at more than twice the national average\u2014but at Asheville VA<\/a>, early detection and timely, personalized treatment are transforming outcomes.<\/p>\n

A hybrid operating room at the medical center allows VA doctors to find early-stage lung cancers and remove them in a minimally invasive procedure. This cuts time between assessment, testing and treatment\u2014and when it comes to cancer, time is everything.<\/p>\n

\u201cVeterans have unique exposures\u2014burn pits, Agent Orange, asbestos\u2014on top of smoking history,\u201d said Dr. Carsten Schroeder, an Asheville VA thoracic surgeon. \u201cThat adds up to a significantly higher risk of lung cancer than the general public.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Don\u2019t slouch on it\u2019<\/h2>\n

Army Veteran Robert Young spent time in Haiti, Kuwait and Iraq, where he saw burning oil wells, burn pits and other kinds of smoke and dust.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had a checkup about a year ago, and they identified something they said they needed to keep an eye on,\u201d said Young. \u201cWhen I got a checkup this year, they said it had doubled in size.\u201d<\/p>\n

After talking with his wife and the doctor, Young decided to not wait to get the growth removed.<\/p>\n

His advice for his fellow Veterans: \u201cDon\u2019t ever hesitate, don\u2019t slouch on it. Get it checked out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nationwide, only about 25% of eligible people get screened for lung cancer. Patients move around a lot, and many don\u2019t maintain consistent primary care that can help them track their risks.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Thanks to the VA health system, at-risk Veterans are automatically flagged for screening.<\/p>\n

\u201cTheir smoking history and age are already in the computer,\u201d explained Schroeder. \u201cSo, during an annual visit, the nurse or doctor gets a prompt: this patient is due for lung cancer screening.\u201d<\/p>\n

Every millimeter counts<\/h2>\n

In the Hybrid OR, doctors can locate and remove tiny lung tumors, even ones under one centimeter in a single procedure.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery millimeter counts,\u201d Schroeder said. \u201cOnce that nodule grows from 1 to 2 to 3 centimeters, the survival rate drops significantly, from 92% down to 75%.\u201d<\/p>\n

Schroeder says the VA system gives him the flexibility to act fast and decided on a treatment plan that is best for the Veteran.<\/p>\n

One Veteran who can attest to that is Navy Veteran Gary Book, who knew he was at increased risk because of exposure to Agent Orange in Vietnam and smoking when he was younger. When he enrolled in VA health care, one of his first requests was to get another lung screening.\u00a0<\/p>\n

When tests revealed a growth, Book met with Dr. Schroeder and decided to have it removed. Now more than five years later, Book says he is still cancer free. He credits VA with saving his life.<\/p>\n

Learn more about lung cancer screening in VA<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n

Source: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs<\/a>. Its Veterans is an independent publication and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. government.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Veterans at risk for lung cancer who receive care at Asheville VA can get screened and treated while cancer is still in its early stages.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":327,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7864","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-u-s-veterans-health-care"],"yoast_head":"\nVeterans benefit from early lung cancer detection - Its Veterans<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Veterans at risk for lung cancer who receive care at Asheville VA can get screened and treated while cancer is still in its early stages.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7864\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Veterans benefit from early lung cancer detection - Its Veterans\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Veterans at risk for lung cancer who receive care at Asheville VA can get screened and treated while cancer is still in its early stages.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7864\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Its Veterans\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-06-07T20:30:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/?p=7864#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/?p=7864\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4bf835f8c5375ef33978f3169f311668\"},\"headline\":\"Veterans benefit from early lung cancer detection\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-06-07T20:30:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/?p=7864\"},\"wordCount\":507,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/?p=7864#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/vet-456-310.png\",\"articleSection\":[\"Health & Care\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/?p=7864\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/?p=7864\",\"name\":\"Veterans benefit from early lung cancer detection - Its Veterans\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/?p=7864#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/?p=7864#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/vet-456-310.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-06-07T20:30:00+00:00\",\"description\":\"Veterans at risk for lung cancer who receive care at Asheville VA can get screened and treated while cancer is still in its early stages.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/?p=7864#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/?p=7864\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/?p=7864#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/vet-456-310.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/vet-456-310.png\",\"width\":723,\"height\":723},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/?p=7864#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Veterans benefit from early lung cancer detection\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Its Veterans\",\"description\":\"Veterans news, benefits, health and community resources\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Its Veterans\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/its-veterans-six-service-branches-flag-header-v2-2026-09-18.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/its-veterans-six-service-branches-flag-header-v2-2026-09-18.jpg\",\"width\":2172,\"height\":724,\"caption\":\"Its Veterans\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4bf835f8c5375ef33978f3169f311668\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/10da73410d092638799e3fa777bd59a474d7c9d9c61105a38c73dd46c050c34f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/10da73410d092638799e3fa777bd59a474d7c9d9c61105a38c73dd46c050c34f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/10da73410d092638799e3fa777bd59a474d7c9d9c61105a38c73dd46c050c34f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Veterans benefit from early lung cancer detection - Its Veterans","description":"Veterans at risk for lung cancer who receive care at Asheville VA can get screened and treated while cancer is still in its early stages.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7864","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Veterans benefit from early lung cancer detection - Its Veterans","og_description":"Veterans at risk for lung cancer who receive care at Asheville VA can get screened and treated while cancer is still in its early stages.","og_url":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7864","og_site_name":"Its Veterans","article_published_time":"2025-06-07T20:30:00+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7864#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7864"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4bf835f8c5375ef33978f3169f311668"},"headline":"Veterans benefit from early lung cancer detection","datePublished":"2025-06-07T20:30:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7864"},"wordCount":507,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7864#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/vet-456-310.png","articleSection":["Health & Care"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7864","url":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7864","name":"Veterans benefit from early lung cancer detection - Its Veterans","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7864#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7864#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/vet-456-310.png","datePublished":"2025-06-07T20:30:00+00:00","description":"Veterans at risk for lung cancer who receive care at Asheville VA can get screened and treated while cancer is still in its early stages.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7864#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7864"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7864#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/vet-456-310.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/vet-456-310.png","width":723,"height":723},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7864#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Veterans benefit from early lung cancer detection"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/","name":"Its Veterans","description":"Veterans news, benefits, health and community resources","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/#organization","name":"Its Veterans","url":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/its-veterans-six-service-branches-flag-header-v2-2026-09-18.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/its-veterans-six-service-branches-flag-header-v2-2026-09-18.jpg","width":2172,"height":724,"caption":"Its Veterans"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4bf835f8c5375ef33978f3169f311668","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/10da73410d092638799e3fa777bd59a474d7c9d9c61105a38c73dd46c050c34f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/10da73410d092638799e3fa777bd59a474d7c9d9c61105a38c73dd46c050c34f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/10da73410d092638799e3fa777bd59a474d7c9d9c61105a38c73dd46c050c34f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/itsveterans.com"],"url":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7864","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7864"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7864\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/327"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7864"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7864"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7864"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}