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Ontario Lung Cancer Screening Program 

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death for people in Ontario. The reason so many people die from lung cancer is that by the time it is usually diagnosed, the cancer has grown too large or spread to other parts of the body. Regular screening can help detect lung cancer early when treatment has a better chance of working. 

The Ontario Lung Cancer Screening Program promotes prevention and early detection of lung cancer in high-risk patients. 

You can call to enroll yourself in the program or ask your doctor to refer you. To qualify for this program you must meet the following criteria: 

  • Be 55 to 74 years of age 
  • Be a smoker or former smoker 
  • Have smoked cigarettes daily for at least 20 years (doesn’t have to be consecutive) 

A screening navigator will conduct a telephone risk assessment with anyone who meets the age and cigarette smoking history criteria. The results of the risk assessment will determine whether someone is eligible to get screened for lung cancer through the pilot program. 

 

As a pilot site for the Ontario Lung Cancer Screening Program, we have the following responsibilities: 

  • Determining eligibility for screening by conducting a risk assessment using a risk calculator 
  • Empowering people to make informed decisions about participating in screening 
  • Providing smoking cessation support 
  • Conducting a baseline low dose CT scan and ongoing routine annual screening 
  • Ensuring that scans are interpreted by radiologists  
  • Ensuring follow-up of nodules if follow-up is recommended according to Lung-RADSTM 
  • Providing participants with navigation support throughout the screening process without any judgement 
  • Reporting data to Ontario Health so performance and quality metrics can be developed 
 

Patients will meet with the navigator and receive an information sheet before their scan to help a conversation about: 

  • Their lung cancer risk 
  • CT Scan 
  • Possible results and next steps 
  • Benefits and risks of screening 
  • Smoking cessation 

People who are at high risk of getting lung cancer and are eligible to get screened will get a “low-dose CT scan” (LDCT). 

 

 
Contact Us
Address- 

Ramsey Lake Health Centre 
Health Sciences North
Level 2, North Tower or North Tower
41 Ramsey Lake Road
Sudbury, Ontario, P3E 5J1

Phone: 705-523-7301 or 1-844-703-0164

Hours of operation: Monday to Friday 7:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.