Indy residents can get free cancer screenings from a new mobile lung unit on March 29.
IU Health’s 40-foot truck has a CT scanner that can detect early-stage lung cancer. The unit will travel the state, stopping in high-risk communities that may not have access to regular screenings.
It will be stationed at IU Health’s Community Health Fair from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Ruth Lilly Health Education Center, 2055 N. Senate Ave. Attendees can also receive free blood pressure monitors, fitness demonstrations and raffle prizes.
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in Indiana, a state with the ninth highest smoking rate in the country, according to the American Lung Association. When lung cancer is detected early, the five-year survival rate is higher; the association’s 2024 report found that CT scans for high-risk people can reduce lung cancer death rates by up to 20%.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends annual lung screenings for people between the ages of 50 and 80 who currently smoke, quit within the last 15 years or who have smoked an average of one pack of cigarettes per day for 20 years.
Screenings are quick and painless. IU Health expects to complete about 2,000 with the mobile unit in 2025. Program staff will share the results and coordinate any follow-up medical care for patients.
Mirror Indy reporter Mary Claire Molloy covers health. Reach her at 317-721-7648 or email maryclaire.molloy@mirrorindy.org. Follow her on X @mcmolloy7.
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