Below you will find a list of frequently asked questions related specifically to the Lung Cancer Risk Factors study.
- Lung Cancer
- Radon
- Cancer and Caregiving Experience Survey
- Radon Testing FAQ
- Toenail Collection
- General FAQ
- Registration Questions
- Technical Questions
- ATP Participation FAQs
We recognize not everyone prefers online participation. However, the online sign-up process has improved since our last survey and is much more user-friendly now, so we encourage you to try our online instructions again.
Also, we are here to help you with this process if you need it! Feel free to request for assistance by sending us an email or giving us a call.
For those that need an option other than online for the Lung Cancer Risk Factors study, please let us know and we will adjust your participant file settings. This is important feedback for us to capture as it helps inform our approaches for this study and future studies. We have been looking at alternate formats to administer our surveys such as over the telephone for some participants.
If you need to contact us, please email us at tomorrow@ahs.ca or call us at our toll free number 1-877-919-9292.
If you experience technical difficulties that are preventing you from logging in and accessing the online survey, we encourage you to try to log-in on a different device if you have one. If this still doesn’t work, please let us know.
If you were attempting to log-in from a work device, try a personal device instead. Some employers have strict security settings (e.g., firewalls) that restrict how users can navigate their networks and this could prevent you from accessing platforms like Alberta.ca Account or the ATP Participant Portal. A personal device likely won’t have the same setting in place.
To maintain high quality services, Alberta.ca Account does undergo regular maintenance. During the following maintenance windows, you may encounter service disruptions (all times in MST):
- Monday to Saturday, 10:00 PM to 10:30 PM
- Sunday, 7:00 AM to 12:00 PM
- Thursday, 11:00 PM to Friday, 3:00 AM
- Second Sunday of the month for up to 24 hours
If you experience technical difficulties within the survey itself, require help with resetting your password for your Alberta.ca Account, or you still can’t log-in despite trying multiple devices, please send an email to tomorrow@ahs.ca or call us at 1-877-919-9292. We are here to help!
If you have reached the “Submit Your PIN” webpage (see picture below), your Alberta.ca Account is not connected to the ATP Participant Portal.
To complete this, please do the following:
Please click the blue “Send My PIN” button and follow the instructions to reset your account setting and have your PIN emailed to you. After this, you will be able to enter your PIN, click submit, and reach the ATP Participant Portal.
If you require assistance, please get in touch by emailing us at tomorrow@ahs.ca or by calling 1-877-919-9292.
If you are a registered participant of ATP, we will contact you to let you know when a new survey is available for you to complete.
We know – seems like a strange ask and gives some people the ick! Toenail samples are surprisingly useful. They can be used to look for things like lead and arsenic, and chronic stress. New research is also underway to see if certain elements measured in toenails can reflect long-term radon exposure. If toenails can be used in future studies or the clinic to assess radon exposure, then people won’t have to do radon testing in their home for months. From the practical side, toenails are less likely to be contaminated by external things (compared to hair), they grow slowly (compared to fingernails), and are easy and cost-effective to collect and store in our biobank. If you’re worried about anyone critiquing your toenail clippings, rest assured – your samples will be stored with a barcode and not your name. So please consider giving us your toenail samples – you’re clipping them anyway!
Toenails should be in generally good health (e.g., no fungus, etc.). You must be willing to not wear toenail polish for 2 weeks prior to each collection of clippings. You must be physically able, or have a caregiver who is physically able, to collect ALL toenail clippings over the entire 4-month period. Finally, you need to ensure to return your toenail clippings with your radon testing kit at the end of the 4-month period.
Please refer to the instructions included in the radon testing package that was mailed to you. Briefly:
- Please ensure your toenails are clean prior to cutting and collecting – after normal showing/bathing is a great time.
- Use a clean pair of toenail clippers or scissors and clip the nails from ALL of your toes over a piece of clean paper or paper towel.
- Carefully transfer the clippings from the paper/paper towel into the sample bag.
- Label the bag(s) with the date of collection.
- Store the bag(s) in a safe place until it’s time to mail them back – a dark, dry and secure location such as a drawer or cupboard is great.
- We would like at least 3 cuttings, spaced about 1 month apart each. But if you cut your toenails more frequently, that’s ok – please just collect all clippings over the full 4 months of your test.
Thank you for your generous offer! At this time we can only accept toenail samples from participants who have been invited to the radon testing study. However, you can let us know if this is something you’d be interested in for the future.
We will invite 5000 participants to receive a free radon testing kit. If you are invited, you will be asked to set up the radon kit, leave it in your home for 4 months, and then return it using a prepaid package. Your kit will then be sent for analysis and the test results will be returned to you by email and in the ATP Participant Portal. You will also be asked to complete surveys with the Evict Radon National Study that will collect more information about your home and activity patterns (e.g., how much time you spend in your home vs other locations). Finally, you will also have the option to collect toenail clippings – a collection kit will be included in the radon package mailed to you, and you can include them when you return the kit. Why toenails? Please see this related FAQ question to find out more.
Eligible participants that have completed the Lung Cancer Risk Factors Survey will be selected at random to receive a radon test kit from Evict Radon. Participants will be asked to complete a survey prior to setting up the device.
Yes, absolutely – however, the cost of the test won’t be covered by this ATP study.
If you are interested in doing radon testing in your home, we encourage you to check out the Evict Radon National Study. The Evict Radon National Study provides radon kits at-cost (i.e. non-profit) for ~$57 CAD (incl. tax) through their partners at Radon West Inc. (a Canadian National Radon Proficiency Program – C-NRPP – certified radon test provider). The Evict Radon National Study has robust quality control methods in place, to ensure that the radon result you receive is accurate and reliable. In addition, data that you provide to the Evict Radon National Study (including the radon testing results) will go into research to help others in the future.
At a later date, ATP is also planning to ask participants who are in both the Evict Radon National Study and ATP to let us combine the data. This will allow us to make data from both studies available more broadly through ATP for researchers to use.
If you prefer to order a kit from another reliable source, please visit Take Action on Radon, a Health Canada funded initiative to list credible radon testing kits and vendors. It is important to use a C-NRPP certified test provider and radon test, as there are known issues (including recalls) that have been identified with some kits sold commercially (e.g., not reliable, not accurate).
As mentioned in other sections, we encourage you to check out the Evict Radon National Study, which has quality control measures in place and uses the data for research. If you prefer to explore other options, Health Canada’s National Radon Program is testing and evaluating radon test kits. They work alongside the Canadian National Radon Proficiency Program (C-NRPP) to validate and recommend radon testing standards. To obtain a credible radon testing kit and certified vendors, please go to the Take Action on Radon or Evict Radon National Study websites.
There are also community-based programs available, such as through the Take Action on Radon 100 Radon Test Kit Challenge. The program provides up to 100 test kits to municipalities to distribute to community members who want to participate. Communities will get a report back of the measured radon levels. Some communities in Alberta have already participated!
If you’re not sure about testing or want more information about it, visit Test4Radon.ca to learn more based on your situation.
You may have seen a lending program at your local library, where members can ‘check out’ a radon test kit. Health Canada’s National Radon Program has looked at the test kits used by various library lending programs. Library lending programs tend to use radon testing kits that are reliable and reasonably accurate for radon testing; however, they are usually only available to borrow for short-term tests (e.g., 7-21 days). Short term radon testing is NOT enough to get a reliable radon level reading. To get a reliable radon reading, the test needs to last at least 91 days. Health Canada’s National Radon Program is currently also evaluating the long-term functioning of the units available in library lending programs.
The good news is that there are ways to mitigate (i.e. reduce) radon levels through renovations. The types of renovations and therefore costs can vary depending on features of your home (type, location, number of storeys, etc.). A certified Canadian National Radon Proficiency Program provider can determine the best radon reduction method for your home. The Evict Radon National Study recommends asking for at least three quotes from different mitigation companies and treat this as any home renovation.
Unfortunately, ATP cannot provide funding or support for home radon mitigation. However, there may be assistance programs available. For example, the Canadian Lung Association has a home radon mitigation support program.
More information about radon mitigation measures can be found here:
Yes – radon test results will be sent to you via the email address you provide during the informed consent process. Radon results will also be made available in the ATP Participant Portal.
The best way to improve patient experiences is to use insights from other patients. Patients are the experts on their own experience, making their input and feedback incredibly valuable for informing quality improvement efforts. The Applied Research & Patient Experience team at Alberta Health Services regularly collects patient feedback and perspectives (e.g., patient-reported outcomes), however it can be very challenging to gather feedback from individuals who are no longer receiving care in the cancer program. We hear time and time again that the post-treatment follow-up phase of the cancer journey can be particularly challenging for patients. It can be difficult to find resources and supports dedicated to this time period, and many patients have previously reported feeling uncertain and alone when navigating challenges during follow-up care. The feedback you provide on this survey will help to directly inform work currently taking place in Cancer Care Alberta to develop resources for patients in the follow-up phase, and help set priorities for future work to improve patient experiences.
There is growing recognition of the immense value and contributions of caregivers, however it is challenging to receive feedback from these individuals. Caregivers are self-identified rather than formally recognized, making it difficult to systematically identify and survey this population. In Cancer Care Alberta (Alberta Health Services), caregiver perspectives are often heard through the contributions of Family Advisors; these are individuals with lived experience as friends or family members of loved ones with a cancer diagnosis. These perspectives are incredibly valuable and help to inform quality improvement work and initiatives intended to improve patient experiences across the cancer program. However, large-scale collection of family or friend perspectives is not typically feasible, which is why this survey with ATP is so important. There is also increasing recognition that caregivers may be dealing with multiple personal challenges as a result of their loved one’s diagnosis and their own caregiving activities. Collecting caregiver feedback on these topics can help to inform the development of dedicated resources to help these individuals manage their concerns and feel supported as they navigate a challenging situation.
This is our first time collecting this type of information from both patients and caregivers, and we didn’t want to make the survey sections too long, especially if you have been both a patient and a caregiver at different points in your life. In addition, it’s common on other patient surveys to ask about supports received from friends and family, so this kind of information can usually be captured elsewhere.
Radon is a radioactive gas that naturally occurs in the Earth’s crust (Evict Radon). You can’t see, smell or taste radon. Radon rises from the ground, can enter buildings through cracks in the foundation, and build up in indoor air. When radon gas decays, it emits alpha particles (a type of radiation) that can damage DNA. Radon is one of the leading causes of lung cancer, estimated to be responsible for 16% of all lung cancer cases in Canada. Fortunately, if your home radon levels are high, there are effective and proven mitigation solutions available to reduce radon to low levels.
Resources:
The Prairie provinces of Canada have some of the highest average indoor radon levels in the world; 1 in 5 properties exceed Health Canada’s action threshold of 200 Bq/m3 (Becquerels per cubic meter; a way to measure the amount of radiation in the air). This study will let us investigate some of the many factors (including radon), that can increase an individual’s risk of developing lung cancer as well as other cancers and chronic diseases.
Image is from the Evict Radon National Study
Resources
Studies show that risk of getting lung cancer goes up by 16% for every 100 Bq/m³ of radon in your home. So, if the radon level in your house is 400 Bq/m³, your risk of lung cancer increases by 64%. However, your risk from radon exposure depends on the levels of radon in your home and how much time you spend in the home.
- Bq/m³ stands for becquerels per cubic meter. It’s a way to measure the amount of radiation in the air.
Resources:
The best thing is to do a test to measure the radon levels in your home. There are some factors that may increase the likelihood of having higher radon levels (e.g., living in a rural area, having a well in or around the property, living in a single detached house, and newer homes). However, any home can have high radon levels and there are many factors that will influence those levels. The only and best way to know your home’s radon levels for sure, is to test. If you do a test and your radon levels are high (see other FAQ question here on what is considered ‘high’), you can explore options for mitigation (find more information here).
You may have heard that actions like turning on fans or opening windows can reduce radon levels in your home. These actions help to circulate and ventilate the air, but they are usually not effective enough to meaningfully reduce radon levels, depending how high the radon level is. According to our friends at the Evict Radon National Study, dilution is not a solution. By comparison, a mitigation system installs a pipe which runs from the foundation floor to an outside wall or up through the roof and a small fan draws radon to the outside, so that it does not enter your home. (Reference – https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/health-risks-safety/radiation/radon/reducing-levels-home.html)
Testing for radon is easy. There are two options:
- Purchase a do-it-yourself radon test kit
- Hire a radon measurement professional
If you choose to purchase a do-it-yourself radon test kit, make sure you follow the instructions provided with the kit.
See more information about radon testing elsewhere in these FAQ.
If you choose to hire a service provider to perform the radon test in your house, it is recommended that you ensure they are certified and will conduct a long-term test for a minimum of 3 months.
The Evict Radon National Study recommends retesting your home if you’ve done renovations or related things that may have altered the way air flows within the home. This would include, for example:
- a new furnace
- developing a basement
- getting new windows or changing the level of window glazing
- adding or removing a window/door/wall
- adding or decommissioning a chimney
- adding new roof insulation
- getting a new roof
- getting air conditioning
- adding HRV to the heating system
- and other related things like that.
Radon professionals recommend a retest every 5 years.
The Evict Radon National Study, based out of the University of Calgary, is a volunteer-led non-profit organization with scientific and research partners across Canada. The Evict Radon National Study is supported by Health Canada and the Canadian Cancer Society. The goal of the study is to understand the multifaceted problem of residential radon exposure and use that information to prevent future lung cancers in Canada.
Health Canada’s National Radon Program’s objective is to help reduce Canadians’ exposure to radon, the number-one cause of lung cancer for non-smokers. The National Radon Program conducts research to better understand radon in Canada, provides technical guidance for radon risk reduction and ensures Canadians have access to accredited radon services and resources to help them test and mitigate.
Since 2008, the National Radon Program has made significant strides in educating the public about radon and encouraging policy and program action to reduce indoor radon levels in Canada.
Health Canada supported the research and advocacy for radon reduction changes in the 2025 National Building Code. The changes will require a full passive vertical radon stack that runs upwards through the inside of the building envelope and vents above the roof. Research has shown that a passive stack can reduce indoor radon levels by 40-80%.
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in Canada, and the second most commonly diagnosed cancer in males (after prostate cancer) and females (after breast cancer). In Alberta, 1 in 12 males and 1 in 13 females are expected to develop lung cancer in their lifetime. Anyone with lungs can get lung cancer.
Resources:
Canadian Cancer Statistics – 2023 report
Screening for Life – Lung cancer
Risk factors for lung cancer include:
- Tobacco exposure (i.e. smoking cigarettes, cigars and other tobacco products)
- Secondhand smoke exposure
- Exposure to radon
- Air pollution
- History of lung disease (e.g. chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, tuberculosis, pneumonia)
- Previous history of cancer (especially if treated with radiation to the chest)
- Family history of lung cancer
- Exposure to asbestos, wood dust, silica and other chemicals
Resources:
This survey is focused on lung cancer, but the information we collect on personal, occupational and environmental risk factors may also impact risk for other cancers and chronic diseases. Alberta’s Tomorrow Project is always looking for how your data can be used as broadly as possible, so we have kept this in mind when designing the survey. We have asked you about some topics before (e.g., use of tobacco products, occupation) – this survey allows us to get updated information and a bit more detail. Other topics have only been asked from some people before (e.g., living in residences that use wood/coal for heating), while still others are new information we’ve never collected before (e.g., radon testing, secondhand exposure of smoke from vaping or cannabis).
Great question! Indeed, those factors will impact someone’s risk of lung cancer and other cancers and chronic diseases. We have tried to strike a balance in what information we collect from you on this survey with information i) we have collected from you before, ii) we will collect in the future, and iii) we can get from other sources. Diet and physical activity are complex, and it is challenging to capture the level of detail required for better research. So instead of asking about diet and physical activity now, we are planning a more detailed data collection starting next year! The timing is close enough and will allow us to collect each type of data in a better way than we could do all at once. For genetics – we have blood samples from many of you that are available for genetic analysis – some researchers are already generating that data (see Approved Projects page). For outdoor air pollution, it is easier to use the postal code of your residence and link this with national databases (such as the Canadian Urban Environmental Health Research Consortium, or CANUE).
Outdoor air pollution (like wildfire smoke) is indeed an important topic for lung health. However, it’s challenging to ask people to try to remember how many days per year they are usually exposed to wildfire smoke, and the amount of wildfire smoke varies year to year. Instead, researchers may estimate wildfire smoke exposure using your residential postal code and external databases that collect this type of information (e.g., Canadian National Air Pollution Surveillance program, NASA Fire Information for Resource Management System). (Note – we do not give out full addresses or postal codes to researchers; instead, we would help do the linkage of your postal code to these databases and send the resulting information to a researcher, without your postal code information.)
Early signs and symptoms of lung cancer are usually very general and can look like other health conditions. Signs and symptoms can include chest and/or shoulder pain, shortness of breath, persistent cough, and others. To find out more – please visit these resources:
Lung Cancer Canada – Signs and Symptoms
Lung cancer – Screening for life
If you’re concerned about any signs and symptoms, please consult your primary healthcare provider or contact Healthlink by dialing 811 in Alberta, or your local health helpline/website if you live outside of Alberta or Canada.
Getting a cancer diagnosis is scary. But the earlier it is caught, the better the chances for treatment to be effective. Lung cancer treatments have come a long way in the last 10-20 years and there is hope – thanks to these advances, mortality rates from lung cancer are declining faster than any other cancer type.
To find out more, please visit the following resources:
Yes – Alberta has done pilot testing of a lung cancer screening program, like many other provinces in Canada. The pilot program is now closed, and Alberta Health Services is currently exploring how to offer this program more broadly in 2025.
In order to complete an ATP survey online, participants need to be able to log into the online ATP Participant Portal where the survey is located.
The ATP Participant Portal supports all online ATP participation. In the future, if ATP requests for a participant to sign a new consent form, complete a new survey, or book an appointment, they will be able to do these tasks from the participant portal.
“Alberta.ca Account” is a secure online platform operated by the Government of Alberta. It offers a variety of different online services.
One of these services is to allow Alberta’s Tomorrow Project (ATP) participants to log-in securely to the ATP Participant Portal in order to participate online. Only a basic account is required to do this. None of your survey information will be accessible by or shared with the government.
Other Alberta.ca Account services (outside ATP) include purchasing park passes, applying for permits, and gaining access to a service called “MyHealth Records”, where you can view lab test results or vaccination records, and more.
It is very difficult to go into surveys to change responses after the survey has been submitted. If there is something you strongly wish to change, please email us with this information and we will see if this can be accommodated.
Our email is: tomorrow@ahs.ca
“Alberta.ca Account” is used by ATP as a secure method for participants to log-in to the ATP Participant Portal, provide private health information in our online surveys, and for this valuable information to be protected and kept confidential. Our online system also validates who is filling out what surveys so that when one participant completes an online survey today, this will be tied to the previous surveys that same participant has done in the past.
In order to participate online, you will have to have at least a basic Alberta.ca Account.
There are two types of Alberta.ca Accounts – A “Basic Account” and a “Verified Account”.
Either of these will work for ATP’s purposes but a basic (or unverified) account is the minimum that we require. We do not need you to take additional steps to create a verified account.
If you reach the Alberta.ca Account “Welcome” page, you have established an active account.
For ATP’s purposes, we do not need you to create a verified account on the Alberta.ca Account webpage. A basic (or unverified) account is the minimum we require.
If you choose to take additional steps to to verify your account, you will be asked to provide:
- A permanent address
- An Alberta driver’s licence or identification card.
Again, if you are at this stage, know that ATP does not require you to provide this.
Yes, you can still participate!
If you now live outside of Alberta, you are still eligible to remain an active participant in ATP. You are able to register to complete the Lung Cancer Risk Factors survey online, if you have not done so yet.
In order to participate online, you will need a basic “Alberta.ca Account”. Despite no longer living in Alberta, participants can still sign up for one of these accounts. Please refer to the instructions in the invitation email we sent you.
If you now live outside of Canada, we also encourage you to try participating online as well.
Yes, you are still eligible to remain a participant in Alberta’s Tomorrow Project going forward. And actually, it’s even more valuable and important that you do so! Your continued participation will help us understand the factors that influence response to treatment and health effects through the cancer journey. It is also anticipated that as cancer screening and treatments advance, there will be more people living with a cancer diagnosis. However, if your circumstances require you to withdraw from the project, we completely understand.
If you need to contact us, please email us at tomorrow@ahs.ca or call us at our toll free number 1-877-919-9292.
You can both participate but you each need your own email address. You or your spouse/partner would need to provide ATP with a different email address in order to participate online. To update email information, please email us at tomorrow@ahs.ca.
We recognize that shared email addresses are common for some couples. However, the reason why this won’t work for ATP’s purposes is that we require increased security measures to allow participants to log-in to the ATP Participant Portal, provide private health information in our online surveys, and for this valuable information to be protected and kept confidential. Our online system validates who is filling out what surveys, so that when one participant completes an online survey today this will be tied to the previous surveys that same participant has done in the past. This level of verification isn’t possible for shared email addresses.
At this time, ATP does not have a proxy or power of attorney process in place to allow someone to complete ATP surveys on behalf of the participant, if the participant is cognitively unable to complete it themselves.
If you are a family member of an Alberta’s Tomorrow Project participant who is cognitively unable to continue their participation, please contact us and we will change their status on their participant file.
You can reach us at tomorrow@ahs.ca or by calling toll free 1-877-919-9292. Our call centre hours are Monday to Friday, 8:30am-4:00pm MST.
Yes!
The personal contact information provided to Alberta’s Tomorrow Project (ATP), or the Alberta.ca Account website (as part of our online process) is kept strictly confidential.
The health information you provide in our online surveys is de-identified and kept strictly confidential. This information is not accessible or shared with the government or any outside organization.
All data will have personal identifiers removed prior to being accessed by public health researchers in the future.
Get in touch with us! Here are two ways to update your secure file:
1) Contact the ATP call centre:
Call the toll-free line 1 877.919.9292 or send us an email tomorrow@ahs.ca
Or
2) Log in to the ATP participant portal:
If you have already connected to the portal, please log in here: myATPhub.ca
Then, click on the “Address Update” menu on the left to update your contact information directly.
Your data will be used in a variety of research related to cancer and chronic disease. For a list of approved research projects and publications using ATP data (likely including yours), please visit:
Approved Research Projects – Alberta’s Tomorrow Project (myatpresearch.ca)
Publications – Alberta’s Tomorrow Project (myatpresearch.ca)
All data provided to ATP from participants are de-identified. This is important to maintain the privacy and confidentiality of participants. Data provided to researchers has additional privacy and de-identification measures implemented as well. What this means is that it would be extremely difficult for a researcher or someone else to trace if/when your specific data was used by a researcher. Only the data managers at ATP will be able to tell if your specific data has been used.
Only current participants in Alberta’s Tomorrow Project can participate in the Lung Cancer Risk Factors study and we are no longer recruiting new participants into ATP at this time.
We appreciate interest in the project from non-participants though. For more information, please have your family or friends visit the ATP website myatp.ca or follow us on social media.
Yes, however the survey works best on a desktop or laptop computer.
We recommend using Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, or Safari. Participants using Internet Explorer may experience technical issues.