CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (CBS19 NEWS) -- The south tower at the University of Virginia Medical Center will be illuminated in white on Thursday night as part of Shine a Light on Lung Cancer.  

Lung cancer is one of the most frequently diagnosed cancers among men and women.

On average, more than 220,000 people in the United States are diagnosed with this cancer annually. Most people that develop it learn it usually derives from smoking.

Unfortunately, lung cancer does not usually give warnings signs until people get into the more advanced stages.

"We are actually starting to see an improvement in what we call the five-year survival rate, with patients who are alive over five years after diagnosis of lung cancer," said Dr. Ryan Gentzler at the UVA Cancer Center. "Many of those advancements in years past have been in patients with stage 4 lung cancer in  terms of better treatments that are becoming available."

Lung cancer screening is available to people between the ages of 50 and 80 and who currently or previously smoked.

Even people who have never smoked may develop lung cancer. Gentzler says between 10 to 20 percent of cases occur in such people, which is up to 30,000 a year.

The screening is covered by Medicare and Medicaid.