Mobile Lung Screening

OU Health Stephenson Cancer Center, in partnership with the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET), makes lung cancer screening easy and convenient through a mobile lung screening bus. Nearly 500,000 adults in Oklahoma smoke, and over 21 percent of high school students use e-cigarettes. Our lung screening bus travels across the state making it easier for Oklahoma's to get checked. Early detection of lung cancer improves treatment and saves lives.

Who Is Eligible for a Lung Cancer Screening?

A low-dose lung cancer screening, also known as a low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) scan, is a specialized test used to detect early signs of lung cancer. To be eligible for a low-dose CT lung cancer screening, you need to meet the following criteria:

• Are 50 years old and older; and
• You smoke now or have quit within the past 15 years; and
• You have a history of of heavy smoking (For example: An average of one pack of cigarettes a day for 20 years)

The low-dose CT lung cancer scan has been shown to improve survival by 20 percent according to The National Lung Screening Trial (NLST) by the National Cancer Institute (NCI).

Insurance & Payment

Most insurance plans will cover the cost of lung CT screening if you meet the eligibility criteria. For those without insurance who still qualify, there may be opportunities to cover this cost through grants or through self-pay.

What To Expect from a Mobile Lung Scan

A low-dose CT (LDCT) lung cancer screening is a quick and non-invasive procedure designed to detect early signs of lung cancer. Here’s what you can expect:

1. Preparation: You don’t need to make any special preparations. You can eat, drink, and take your medications as usual. You also don’t need to change your clothes unless they have metal objects over the chest area.
2. The Procedure: During the scan, you’ll lie on a table that slides into the CT scanner. The machine uses a low dose of radiation to create detailed images of your lungs. The scan itself takes only a few minutes and is painless.
3. After the Scan: There’s no recovery time needed. You can go about your day immediately after the screening. Our healthcare provider will review the images and discuss the results with you.

This screening is particularly useful for detecting lung cancer at an early stage.

Did you know lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the U.S.? You can take steps to intervene early through annual screenings. Our bus visits communities across Oklahoma, providing needed the health lung screenings.

Lung Cancer Prevention

To help prevent lung cancer, it is important not to smoke and to stay away from places where people are smoking. Here are a few more tips:

• Avoid tobacco – Avoid all forms of tobacco, including cigarettes, e-cigarettes, vaping and chewing tobacco
• Avoid secondhand smoke –Secondhand smoke is the smoke you breathe in when someone nearby is smoking. It includes the smoke given off by the burning tobacco. And it includes the smoke breathed out by the smoker
• Avoid air pollution – Air pollution is when harmful substances are in the air that we breathe
• Avoid asbestos – Asbestos is a mineral fiber found in rocks and soil. Breathing it in can increase your risk for lung cancer

Talk with your doctor about your own health and your family’s health and history of lung diseases like bronchitis, asthma, and emphysema.

Your Expert Mobile Lung Screening Team

The OU Health mobile lung cancer screening bus is staffed by compassionate and patient-centered imaging technicians. These specialists work in collaboration with a larger team of lung cancer diagnostic experts, including radiologists especially trained in the detection of lung cancer.

The team is also supported by lung cancer experts including interventional pulmonologists, interventional radiologists, thoracic medical oncologists, thoracic oncologic surgeons and nurse navigators who work together to provide the best care for our patients.