Lung screening involves a scan of your lungs using a low-dose CT machine. The scan is free and takes place at a hospital in your community.
Lung screening is best for those who are at high-risk for lung cancer and who are not experiencing any symptoms. Please call us if you:
- Are 55 to 74 years of age;
- Have smoked commercial tobacco for 20 years or more, either currently or in the past.
During a 5 to 10 minute phone conversation, a Lung Screening Program navigator will ask you questions about your smoking and health history. Your answers to these questions will help determine your lung cancer risk and whether screening is right for you.
1Call the Lung Screening Program (1-877-717-5864)
If you think you qualify for screening, please call the Lung Screening Program at:
1-877-717-5864.
Please have your BC Services Card/CareCard and the name of your primary care provider available when you're booking your appointment. A primary care provider is required to participate in screening. Primary care providers can advise you about the benefits and limitations of screening, order tests, and follow-up on test results.
Don't have a primary care provider? Scroll down to the questions section.
2Complete a phone consultation
A program navigator will complete a 5 to 10 minute phone consultation and risk assessment to determine your eligibility. During your risk assessment, you will be asked questions about your smoking and health history. Your answers to these questions will help determine your lung cancer risk and whether screening is right for you.
3Schedule your appointment
If you are eligible for lung screening, your information will be sent to a CT department, located at a hospital in your community. CT department staff will then contact you to arrange for your lung screening appointment.
4
Attend your appointment
Please wear loose-fitting clothing without any metals (e.g. belt, bra with underwire) to your appointment. The scan itself takes less than 10 seconds and is not painful. You do not need to take any medications or receive any needles for this test.
If you don’t have a primary care provider, the following options are available to support screening:
Virtual clinics supporting screening participants
The clinics listed have volunteered to support screening participants who do not currently have a primary care provider. Being listed on this webpage should not be considered an endorsement by BC Cancer. Please contact these clinics directly for more information. If you are a clinic that is accepting patients for cancer screening referrals and follow-up, please contact us at promotions@bccancer.bc.ca
Primary care resources
- Register for the Health Connect Registry to be contacted when a provider in your area becomes available.
- Call HealthLink BC at 8-1-1 and speak with a Health Service Navigator. They will review options with you, including how to find a family doctor accepting new patients, access walk-in clinics, or find a nurse practitioner in your community.
- Search for a primary care provider using the Pathways Medical Care Directory.
