Nunavut to offer early lung cancer screening to high-risk people

Nunavut may soon have a new weapon in the fight against lung cancer. Nunavut is said to be the first territory to offer early screening to people at high risk of lung cancer. It's Canada's leading cause of cancer death. And without early screening, the majority of patients have their illness detected at stage 3 or 4. When very few can be cured, that's why early detection is so critical, according to Dr. Craig Earle, CEO of the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer. What we're seeing with screening is that flips, and actually the majority of people diagnosed with lung cancer are diagnosed in stage 1 or 2, where the majority of people can be cured. Earl's organization is helping lead the testing expansion. The screening uses a CAT scan with a low dose of radiation to find cancer before it becomes advanced. Patients will be screened based on their age and smoking history. Dr. Ikua Agyemang is Nunavut's chief public health officer. She says the territory will begin with a pilot project to address the unique challenges of delivering medical care within the territory. So, it will not just be for Iqaluit once it started, but it would, as everything else in Nunavut, our approach is always different because Nunavut is different. Agyemang says one of those challenges will be to ensure people in communities across the territory have access to the screening. Right now, seven provinces have adopted the screening program. Three provinces in Nunavut are in the planning stages. Tom Ikhaka, CBC News, Iqaluit.