I was 56 years old and had an 8cm tumor in my upper right lobe. It was diagnosed as adenocarcinoma NSCLC. The cancer had not spread to my lymph nodes and I had my upper and middle lobes removed. This was in August of 2010. I subsequently had 6 months of chemo and February 2012 will be my first anniversary of being cancer-free. I had been a smoker but had quit over 12 years ago. I had no symptoms other than sometimes being out of breathe. I attributed this to me being overweight and lack of exercise. I had no cough or any other symptoms. Only reason the cancer was detected was I undergoing another procedure and that doctor wanted a pre-op chest x-ray. Regardless of what the medical community says, I would highly recommend any ex-smoker or current smoker as your doctor for at least an annual x-ray. Better yet, ask for a CT scan. I've read opposing views on the benefits of yearly testing using x-rays or CT scans, but if these diagnostic tools uncover at least one occurrence of cancer then it's well worth the cost.