Patient Information

Information about the lung screening program for patients

Getting “screened” is when you get tested for a disease even though you may have no symptoms and generally feel fine.
Now there is a test that can help find lung cancer early, when it may be smaller and easier to treat. This test is called a low-dose CT scan (also known as a low-dose CAT scan).

In Ontario, lung cancer is the number one cancer people die from. The reason so many people die from lung cancer is that by the time it causes symptoms, it has usually spread to other parts of the body or is too big to treat easily.
Getting screened with a low-dose CT scan (also known as a low-dose CAT scan) is the best way to find lung cancer early. When cancer is found early, it is usually small and treatment has a better chance of working.
If you are at high risk of getting lung cancer, getting screened regularly can lower your risk of dying from lung cancer by 20 percent.

You may qualify for lung cancer screening if you are 55 to 74 years old and you have smoked cigarettes daily (current or past smokers) for at least 20 years in total.
Contact your health-care provider and bring them this referral form to find out if you may qualify for lung cancer screening. You can also contact the Lung Cancer Screening Pilot for People at High Risk directly at 1-844-394-1124. A hospital staff member (called a screening navigator) will ask you some questions over the phone to find out if you qualify.
If you qualify, you will need a referral from a doctor before you can get screened. If you don’t have a doctor who can refer you, the hospital will find you one, so that you can get screened.

Last updated on: January 18th, 2021