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Lung cancer screening is crucial for detecting the disease early, when treatment is most effective. Screening usually involves testing people who may be at a higher risk, like people who have smoked for a long time or individuals who have been frequently exposed to secondhand smoke or harmful substances like asbestos.
In order for a physician to diagnosis a person with lung cancer, they need to screen them, which means they need to perform tests to find out whether the person has the disease.
Screening at Fred Hutch includes having a low-dose CT scan, which is the only method for detecting lung cancer recommended by the American Cancer Society, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other leading U.S. health organizations. If the results are positive, your physician may order additional imaging tests, such as an endobronchial ultrasound and a chest X-ray. You will also need a biopsy before a diagnosis can be confirmed.
Schedule Your Screening
If you think you qualify for screening, please contact your primary care provider (PCP) and ask them to obtain an order for the exam. Your PCP can fill out the order form below and fax it to 206.606.6729.
Once an order has been placed and you are ready to schedule, or if you have any questions about our Lung Cancer Screening Program, please call us at 206.606.1434.
CT Lung Cancer Screening Order Form (PDF)
Screenings are available at these locations:
- Fred Hutch Sloan Clinic
- UW Medical Center - Roosevelt
- Harborview Medical Center
- UW Medicine Eastside Specialty Center
- UW Medicine Primary Care at Outpatient Medical Center
For Referring Providers: Lung Cancer Screening Information
Lung Cancer Screenings Save Lives
Lung cancer is the leading cause of death in the United States, but it is highly treatable when caught early. However, fewer than 15% of people at high risk for lung cancer receive potentially life-saving screening. Many times, it is because they are unaware of either their risk or that screening is available to them.
With screening and early detection, lung cancer can be treated with surgery before it spreads to other parts of the body. In fact, five-year survival rates for people with non-small cell lung cancer can increase from 15% to 84% when caught early. Low-dose CT is used at Fred Hutch to screen for lung cancer and is considered the “gold standard” when it comes to lung cancer screening. Studies show it is at least as effective in preventing lung cancer deaths in high-risk individuals as mammography is in preventing breast cancer deaths and colonoscopy is in preventing colon cancer deaths.
You May Benefit From Annual Screening if All Of These Are True
- You are between 50 and 80 years old
- You currently smoke, or you quit in the last 15 years
- You smoked an average of at least 1 pack a day for 20 years or 2 packs a day for 10 years
These guidelines come from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF).
Learn more at U.S. Prevention Services Task Force.
Additional Screening Criteria
If you are 50 or older and have smoked 1 pack a day for 20 years or more, you should consider screening if you have one of the following risk factors:
- You have documented high radon exposure
- You have had occupational exposure to silica, cadmium, asbestos, arsenic, beryllium, chromium, nickel or diesel fumes
- You are a survivor of lung cancer, lymphoma or head and neck cancer
- You have a history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or pulmonary fibrosis
- You have a family history of lung cancer
This group of high-risk patients is meant to be of similar risk for lung cancer as those in the first section. But it is not completely known how much this group will benefit from CT screening since there are no data from a randomized trial.
Secondhand smoke exposure is not an independent risk factor for lung cancer CT screening.
What Does Screening Involve?
The scan is fast, simple, painless and you can stay fully clothed. A low-dose CT scan is a special kind of X-ray that takes multiple pictures as you lie on a table that slides in and out of the machine. A computer then combines these images into a detailed picture of your lungs.
Why Choose Fred Hutch for Lung Cancer Screening
The Fred Hutch Lung Cancer Screening Program was one of the first in the nation to be named a Screening Center of Excellence by the Lung Cancer Alliance. We are also accredited by the American College of Radiology.
Fred Hutch and our partners at UW Medicine offer five convenient screening locations in the Puget Sound region.
Biopsy and Diagnosing Lung Cancer
Fred Hutch’s Lung Cancer Early Detection and Prevention Clinic (LCEDPC) is here for you if you are at high risk or are experiencing symptoms of lung cancer.
To confirm the diagnosis, a physician will perform a biopsy. This involves taking a sample of lung tissue and sending it to a lab for analysis. A number of methods can be used.
- Bronchoscopy — A thin, lighted tube (bronchoscope) is inserted through your mouth or nose, down your windpipe and into your breathing passages so your physician can see inside and take a tissue sample.
- Endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS TBNA) — A special bronchoscope with an ultrasound processor is used to see the area between your lungs and take a tissue sample without any incisions.
- Needle biopsy — A needle is inserted through your chest wall into the tumor, usually under the guidance of CT imaging, to withdraw cells. This method might also be used to withdraw cells from tumors in other areas of your body, if you have any.
- Thoracentesis — A needle is used to remove fluid surrounding your lungs.
- Mediastinoscopy — A thin, lighted tube (mediastinoscope) is inserted through a small incision in your neck just above or next to your breastbone to see your lungs and surrounding lymph nodes and take a tissue sample.
- Thoracotomy — A surgeon opens your chest surgically to access the tumor.
If a biopsy confirms that lung cancer is present, your physician will determine the type of lung cancer and the stage — which means to see how far the cancer has spread within your lungs or to other parts of your body.
Get Follow Up Care
If your screening results show that you need further care, the physicians in our Lung Cancer Early Detection and Prevention Clinic and our Lung Cancer Screening Program are ready to help guide you through next steps.
Screening for At-Risk Populations
Among tribal nations and Indigenous peoples in the United States, there is a much higher risk of developing lung cancer. To promote health and lung cancer screening in these communities, Fred Hutch established the həliʔil Program.
Learn more about the həliʔil Program.
Sometimes, abnormalities that appear on a scan turn out to be non-cancerous conditions like a scar. If a screening finds something abnormal, your physician may recommend additional scans, tests or a biopsy. Your Fred Hutch physician and care team will guide you through the process and explain your next steps in detail.
In many cases, you will be given medication to help you relax, along with numbing medicine for comfort. You’ll remain awake and will usually feel very little or nothing. With more involved approaches, full general anesthesia is used, meaning you will be asleep during the procedure. Ask your care team about the kind of procedure you’ll be having. They are here to make sure you know what to expect and to answer any questions.
If you delay follow-up after a positive lung cancer screening and you have lung cancer, it could allow your disease to spread, making it harder to treat.
“Not many people have talked about what happens to the patients who have a positive finding [on a lung cancer screening],” said Fred Hutch pulmonologist and health services researcher, Matthew Triplette, MD, MPH. “The assumption is that they’re going to do something about it. We actually questioned that and found half of patients with positive findings had delays in follow-up care.”
Read more about the importance of a follow-up.
Most private health plans, Medicaid and Medicare cover lung cancer screening for eligible populations. Follow-up care required after the exam will likely be covered by your insurance or Medicare or Medicaid; however, please contact your insurance carrier to check your coverage or call Patient Financial Services at 206.606.6226 with any questions regarding authorizations.