Screening means checking your body for potential signs of cancer before symptoms develop. When caught early, treatments for cancer are likely to be more effective. Screening at present is only publicly offered for certain types of cancer including cervical, colorectal, breast and lung in certain high risk individuals. Screening alone is not meant to diagnose cancer and more tests may be needed for diagnosis.

To be eligible for screening via our clinic, at present, the following criteria must be met: You are a resident of BC and registered with an MSP number. You are within the age range for publicly funded cancer screening tests and haven’t received them in the recommended time window You don’t have symptoms that might require other diagnostic investigations - for example, a new breast lump, abdominal pain, blood in your stools or blood in your sputum. Cancer screening tests are not appropriate for patients with symptoms.

Yes. If you are a BC resident the Medical Services Plan (MSP) pays for medically required services of physician and surgeons, this includes all recommended cancer screening.

No. This clinic is a screening clinic. Services are offered preventatively for patients without signs of symptoms that might require other investigations or referrals. If you have new signs or symptoms such as those described above, you should seek out an assessment at a local Urgent Care Center, a Walk-in Clinic, or your primary care provider’s office. If you're having a medical emergency, you should dial 9-1-1 or go to the nearest Emergency Room.

We offer cancer screening consultations and follow-up services for breast, colorectal (or colon) and lung cancer. Though cervical cancer screening is also publicly-funded, at present, we do not offer it yet. We also get lots of questions about prostate cancer screening, but this is not currently publicly-funded in B.C. We are working hard on solutions to be able to offer these to patients as soon as possible. Currently, no screening tests are routinely available in B.C. for other types of cancer.

CanScreenBC is a screening clinic dedicated exclusively to cancer screening. We do not provide other general medical services, walk-in appointments or ICBC/WorkSafe assessments. If you need a medical assessment unrelated to cancer screening, please consult your primary care provider, your local walk-in clinic, or review www.medimap.ca. If you are having a medical emergency, please dial 911.

All patient appointments can be booked by clicking "Book Now" anywhere on our website. Patients can then choose the most appropriate visit type for them. You will need to complete a basic demographic and screening questionnaire in advance of booking their intake appointment. This process only takes a minute or two. You can book online directly here.

All initial screening assessments are done virtually by phone or video conference. After completing an online booking, patients will receive several email reminders regarding their appointment. We ask that all patients arranging an online booking input their preferred phone number in the pre-booking questionnaire so that one of our physicians can contact you directly at your scheduled appointment time. If you have booked an appointment and need to cancel it, you can do so directly from your booking confirmation email. New appointments can then be booked via our online booking page.

During your virtual visit with a physician, they will assess which screening investigations you qualify for and help facilitate those. Any imaging tests suggested will be ordered at a local diagnostic facility near you. Lab testing suggested can be done at local labs (LifeLabs, Health Authority Lab sites).

We are frequently asked about screening for other types of cancer, such as leukemia, ovarian cancer, lymphoma and more. However, there is not enough medical evidence to offer population-based screening for these types of cancer, so we are unable to offer it.

We know that LGBTQ communities are less likely to get screened than non-trans and heterosexual counterparts. We want to remove barriers so that all may feel comfortable screening. For a full discussion on LGBTQ screening, click here.

This service is intended for those with the greatest barriers to accessing primary care. For continuity of care, we would recommend that if you have a primary care provider, you book your cancer screening tests through them. If you are having trouble accessing your primary care provider, we can still see you for a cancer screening consultation.

CanScreenBC is a service offered through the company Boundless Medical. You may see references to either CanScreenBC or Boundless Medical in our regular correspondence to you.

Our virtual clinic hours are dynamic and change weekly to reflect physician scheduling availability. Our reception support hours are also variable and change based on physician scheduling. We do not accept bookings physically at our office unless it is felt to be required by a physician after your screening results are reviewed. If you'd like to schedule an appointment, please do so online here.