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COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- A new mobile lung cancer screening unit from Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - The James aims to meet patients where they are, bringing critical screenings to communities across Ohio.

According to the American Cancer Society, lung cancer remains one of the deadliest forms of cancer, yet many people who qualify for screenings never get them. Experts said that limited access and the cost of care are two of the biggest barriers keeping people from getting tested; now, the James team hopes the new mobile unit will change that and ultimately save lives.

For Lourdes Castillo, a former smoker, the clinic provided peace of mind. She started smoking at 13 years old and continued for nearly four decades before quitting seven years ago. After losing a close friend to lung cancer, she decided to get screened through the mobile unit after learning about it in a work newsletter.

“Being free, I figured I better take advantage of it,” Castillo said. “But I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it ever since she was diagnosed.”

Dr. Jasleen Pannu, medical director of lung cancer early detection at The James, said that because lung cancer often doesn’t show symptoms until it has advanced, early detection is key.

“Cancer does not have any symptoms,” Pannu said. “If you wait for the cancer to progress, patients will have further progressed disease, and the survival is quite low.”

According to the American Cancer Society, lung cancer screenings are recommended for adults ages 50 to 80 who currently smoke or have quit within the past 15 years and who have a history of smoking at least one pack a day for 20 years.

Pannu said the mobile clinic offers the same level of care and accuracy as screenings performed in a hospital or doctor’s office. The mobility of the unit allows the team to bring services directly to communities that lack access, including rural regions.

“They can be timed and scheduled visits out in these communities,” Pannu said. “Everyone interested can get scheduled.”

The program’s first clinic offered free screenings, with additional low-cost events planned for the future. The goal, organizers said, is to make potentially life-saving care available to more Ohioans no matter where they live.