Nova Scotia launches new lung cancer screening program
Nova Scotians who are considered very high risk of developing lung cancer will now be able to go through a new screening program.
The program, designed to prevent and detect the disease earlier, provides clinical assessment and computerized tomography (CT) scans. It will also provide people with tools to help stop smoking, such as free nicotine replacement therapy, and information about lung health.
Dr. Daria Manos, radiologist and medical director of the Nova Scotia Health Lung Screening Program, said this program is long overdue.
“Lung cancer kills more Nova Scotians than colon, prostate and breast cancers combined,” Manos said at the Lung NSPEI office in Halifax, where the new program was announced on Friday.
“The truth is, if you’re presenting with symptoms of lung cancer, it’s already too late.”
– Dr. Madeline Plourde
Every year, 1,000 Nova Scotians are diagnosed with lung cancer and 700 die of the disease.
Manos said the disease is often hidden and has historically received less funding than others.
But Health Minister Michelle Thompson said the Nova Scotia government is willing to change that and will dedicate roughly $3 million annually to the program once it’s fully implemented across the province over the next two years.
The Canadian Partnership Against Cancer has also contributed $350,000 to the program and has committed nearly $1 million over the next three years to “help equity-enhancing strategies to reach diverse and vulnerable populations.”
Dr. Madeline Plourde, chief of thoracic surgery at Dalhousie University and Nova Scotia Health, said early detection is crucial when it comes to lung cancer.
She said about 70 per cent of the patients her department sees are found to have advanced-stage lung cancer at the time of diagnosis and are not eligible for curative treatment.
“The truth is, if you’re presenting with symptoms of lung cancer, it’s already too late,” Plourde said.
Kendra Slawter is all too familiar with losing loved ones to lung cancer.
“Over the last 10 years, my sister and I have lost four family members,” Slawter said.
“One of them was my mom.”
Slawter said while her mom wouldn’t have met the program’s criteria, her aunts and uncle would have qualified for the program.
“The resources and supports could have detected the cancer sooner or prevented it altogether, which would have allowed us to love on our family members just a little bit longer,” Slawter said.
Nova Scotians aged 50 to 74 years old who have smoked daily for at least 20 years can contact the program to have a nurse assess their risk of lung cancer. If a person is still smoking, they can reach out to the program, even if they don’t intend to quit right now.
Slawter said she hopes future research will allow the program to expand its criteria to include environmental and other factors.
Manos said the criteria, based on several research trials, does not include people who have been exposed to secondhand smoke.
“The risks of secondhand smoke are not the same as the risks of personal smoking and it’s very difficult right now to measure the effects of secondhand smoke,” Manos explained.
“Because the screening CT scan is not risk-free, it’s really important for us to have an objective way to measure somebody’s risk so we don’t contribute to unnecessary harm for patients.”
The Lung Screening Program is now available in the central health zone by calling 1-833-505-LUNG (5864). People do not need a family doctor to access the program.
