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By Curtis Galbraith
Health

More than 60 people join new lung cancer screening program in just over two weeks

Oct 21, 2022 | 6:00 AM

A lot of people in Grande Prairie have already joined a new program that looks for lung cancer.

The Alberta Lung Cancer Screening Program launched in late September as a two-year pilot project through Primary Care Networks in Grande Prairie, Edmonton, and Calgary.

Grande Prairie Dr. Francis Akolo says he has already referred 10 patients from his clinic and there had been 67 in total from across the city by mid-October.

“Some of us who were looking into (it were) able to hear about the program far ahead of time were able to embrace it and we started as soon as the program was launched.”

“I think, by and large, people are beginning to buy into the program.”

Dr. Akolo says Grande Prairie was picked for this program partly because of the number of smokers here and because Alberta Health Services wanted to have this project tested in the North Zone.

He says doctors will explain the pros and cons of screening to patients and make a referral if the patient feels it is right for them.

“And then they will use … calculate the risk for that individual person and if they think they are eligable, then an appointment will be made for such a person to be screened.”

Dr. Akolo says a $1 million grant from the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer is paying for this.

“We certainly hope that the pilot will lead to a full-scale provincial program after these current two years.”

Dr. Akolo says B.C., Ontario, Quebec, and Nova Scotia already have similar programs.

He adds that quitting smoking is the best way to reduce the risk of lung cancer. He says people who want help doing this can get it through their primary care providers or here.

More information on the screening program can be found here.

by Curtis Galbraith