Lung Cancer Early Detection & Prevention Clinic

Are you a smoker? Ex-smoker? Have you lived with a smoker or worked in a smoky work place?

Perhaps you'd like to know how healthy your lungs really are.

You can find out at SCCA's Lung Cancer Early Detection and Prevention Clinic.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of all cancer deaths in the United States. Like most cancers, detecting it at its earliest stage provides the best opportunity for a cure.

If you are a smoker, or even an ex-smoker, visit the Lung Cancer Early Detection and Prevention Clinic.  Don't wait until you have breathing problems, see someone while you're feeling good. And, if you are currently a smoker who has been thinking about quitting, you can get state-of-the-art smoking cessation help from our Smoke Free Life Program.

Because you smoked, even if you have quit, you are still at risk for lung cancer and other tobacco-related lung diseases.

As a smoker or ex-smoker, visiting this clinic will help alleviate worries about the future health of your body and your lungs. 

About the Clinic

"There is no other clinic like this in the country," says Donna Manders, smoking cessation counselor at SCCA. The data from this clinic will change healthcare for lung cancer patients in the future.

Two-Part Strategy

The Lung Cancer Early Detection Clinic is for:

• People who smoke or have smoked and would like to see if they have any lung problems, including but not limited to nodules that may lead to lung cancer.
• People who have been diagnosed with nodules in their lungs.

Early Detection Part I

During your initial appointment, which may include Lung Cancer Screening, you will be seen by a pulmonologist (lung specialist) who will:

• Discuss your health history
• Assess your overall lung function
• Assess you for signs of early oral cancer
• Check for lung health issues like asthma and emphysema
• Determine whether a CT scan (computed tomography) of your lungs to look for lung cancer is appropriate
• Discuss the benefits of smoking cessation, and if appropriate, refer you to the Smoke Free Life Program.

There are specific Guidelines for Screening that must be met before you are considered for a screening CT scan. During your initial appointment, your pulmonologist will discuss with you the risks and benefits of a screening CT as well, and decide with you whether a CT scan will be beneficial.

Costs

There will be a fee for this service because it is not normally covered by insurance, unless a problem is found. You will have the opportunity to discuss the current fee when you call for your appointment.

Early Detection Part II

If you have been diagnosed with lung nodules, your physician can refer you to our clinic. Your case will be reviewed by a team of specialists including a pulmonologist, a chest radiologist, a nuclear medicine specialist, and a thoracic surgeon, who will review your records and scans and discuss your health history to determine the best course of action to take. If an intervention or procedure is necessary, services are easily accessible between Seattle Cancer Care Alliance and University of Washington Medical Center.

Make an Appointment

To schedule an appointment with the Lung Cancer Early Detection and Prevention Clinic call the SCCA Intake Office at (206) 288-7222. Even if you have already quit smoking, you are still at risk for lung cancer and other tobacco related lung diseases.

Our Providers

Dr. Jason Chien is head of the Lung Cancer Early Detection and Prevention Clinic. The mission of this clinic is to improve the length and quality of life among patients at risk for lung cancer and other disorders caused by tobacco. We will fulfill our mission by delivering and integrating state-of-the-art clinical care and research focused on enhancing prevention, early detection, and treatment.

Dr. Abigail Halperin is director of the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance Smoke Free Life Program, a tobacco cessation clinic for cancer patients at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (FHCRC) and SCCA. She is principal investigator and program director for two ASPH/Legacy STEP-UP (Scholarship, Teaching, and Education Program for Tobacco Use Prevention) grants, and has served as the Associate Medical Director for Free & Clear, Inc., the largest provider of tobacco quit line services for states, employers, and health insurance companies in the United States since 2004.