November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month, and Arkansas has one of the highest rates of lung cancer in the country. That’s according to the 2025 State of Lung Cancer report from the American Lung Association.

The state ranks 47th out of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Laura Turner, director of advocacy for the American Lung Association in Arkansas, said smoking and exposure to radon gas are the two main causes of lung cancer in the state.

She added that ways to reduce cancer cases are to stop smoking and to test homes for radon gas.

“Anybody can get a radon test and test their home, said Turner. “And then, if you get high results, you would want to pursue a certified testing company. And if you need to get that fixed, there’s mitigation that needs to be done to get that gas out of the home so you’re not being exposed to it.”

According to the report, more than 20% of radon test results in Arkansas are at or above recommended Environmental Protection Agency levels.

Lung cancer can also be hereditary. Turner said early detection and diagnosis can increase chances it can be successfully treated.

“When it is very early, there are very few signs,” said Turner, “but some of the types of symptoms you might find would be coughing that doesn’t go away, back pain that doesn’t go away, and anything respiratory that doesn’t seem to have another cause.”

Arkansas is among five states that require insurance coverage of biomarker testing in only some insurance plans. Turner said they hope to increase opportunities for this test, which looks for mutations in a person’s DNA to help with early detection.

“We’d like to see Medicaid and basically all insurance plans in Arkansas [be] required to cover it,” said Turner. “Because if you can imagine not only catching lung cancer when it’s in an early stage but treating it effectively, it’s not only going to save lives, it’s going to save health care costs.”

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