Work begins on Alberta’s first-ever lung cancer screening program

CALGARY-  A team of Calgary researchers has started work on Alberta’s first-ever lung cancer screening program.

A researcher with the University of Calgary and the Southern Alberta Cancer Research Institute plans to screen 800 thousand Albertans over the next five years to determine exactly who should be screened with a CT scan as well as how often.

“We know from a study done in the U.S. a few years ago, lung cancer screening saves lives,” says Dr. Alain Tremblay of the Southern Alberta Cancer Research Institute. “About 20 per cent of lung cancer deaths can be eliminated by screening.”

Tremblay and his team will rely on $2.3 million from the Alberta Cancer Foundation to complete their work.

Anyone interested in participating in the program can email the researchers at lung.screening@ucalgary.ca.

-with files from Heather Yourex