Mobile lung screening clinic in Indiana aims to catch cancer early

A new mobile lung clinic is bringing lung screenings to more community members in Indianapolis. 

Across the country, lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths. Indiana has the ninth highest rate of smoking and the state ranks 40 out of 51 in the nation with 40.2% of radon tests results that are at or above levels recommended by the Environmental Protection Agency. And rural communities tend to be at a higher risk due to lack of access to primary and preventative care services.

Annual lung cancer screenings are recommended for adults ages 50 to 80 with a smoking history of at least 20 pack-years — which is equivalent to a person smoking one pack of cigarettes a day for 20 years or somking two packs a day for 10 years — as well as people who’ve previously quit smoking, according to the American Cancer Society. 

Dr. Nasser Hanna, the chief of cancer screenings for Indiana University Health, said  stage one lung cancer doesn’t cause symptoms.

“The only way you can find stage one lung cancer is either you get really lucky, or a lung screening,” Hanna said. 

In 2023, Hanna secured a $4.5 million gift from the Tom and Julie Wood Foundation to create the module lung clinic. The funds were also matched with a $4 million endowment from the IU Health Foundation.

Hanna said that lung screenings can also identify other health problems. 

“We find aneurysms, we sometimes find breast cancer, we sometimes find kidney cancer. We find all sorts of things that can actually reduce the likelihood that you’re going to die from other reasons as well,” he said.

The mobile lung clinic will travel to areas across the state based on places with the highest smoking rates, diagnoses of lung cancer and lung cancer mortality rates. They also considered which towns already have available lung screenings.

The program has been active for nearly a month and a half and hopes to scan roughly 200 people.

“You don’t have to take your clothes off, you don’t have to take your shoes off, you can eat right before and right after,” Hanna said, “there’s no IV, there’s no squeezing, there’s no prodding, there’s no poking, no embarrassment. It takes about three minutes and you get up and you leave.”

Medicare, Medicaid, all ACA plans, and most private insurance cover screening with no out-of-pocket cost for eligible patients.

The mobile lung clinic will be at the Indianapolis FireFighters Museum until Friday, April 18 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Pre-registration is recommended through the online portal or by calling 317-962-5864, but they said same-day appointments are also available. 

Contact WFYI’s health reporter Elizabeth Gabriel at egabriel@wfyi.org