Phil Richmond never missed his annual physical, and he considers himself lucky for that. Because he smoked, his doctor performed a chest X-ray every other year. And it was through one such X-ray in 2008 that his doctor noticed a spot on his lung, which was confirmed by a PET scan. The diagnosis was clear: Phil had lung cancer.

“I was lucky I received an early lung cancer diagnosis,” Phil says. “Most cases aren’t caught until later...