Lung Cancer Screening Taskforce
Taskforce Mission
The Lung Cancer Screening Taskforce seeks to provide education and training to providers to increase awareness of needed lung cancer screenings. This group also works to increase awareness of lung cancer screening to the Vermont community through outreach and awareness activities. Please see Goal 2 in the Vermont Cancer Plan. The Lung Cancer Taskforce collaboratively came together to create a Lung Cancer Screening Resource Guide, which can be found here. Currently, this group is working with the Vermont Department of Corrections to help them implement lung cancer screening protocol into their facilities for eligible incarcerated Vermonters.
Why a Lung Cancer Screening Taskforce?
Meeting Information
The United States Preventative Services Task Force updated their guidelines in 2013 to recommend annual screening for lung cancer with low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) in adults aged 55 to 80 years who have a 30 pack-year smoking history and currently smoke or have quit within the past 15 years. Screening should be discontinued once a person has not smoked for 15 years or develops a health problem that substantially limits life expectancy or the ability or willingness to have curative lung surgery. For more information on Lung Cancer, visit https://www.cdc.gov/cancer/lung/index.htm.
To learn more about our current Lung Cancer goals and objectives, see the 2025 Vermont Cancer Plan.
This group meets every other month. New 2025 meeting schedule pending.
Recent Meeting Minutes & Materials:
Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025
Lung Cancer Screening Taskforce Chair
Dana Bourne, MPH (she/her/hers)
Tobacco Cessation Specialist, Vermont Department of Health
I am grateful to be a co-chair at VTAAC as I feel the cross-section between tobacco use and chronic disease is vast. By joining VTAAC, and now acting as a co-chair, I feel I am able to work with more partners to improve tobacco screening and cessation across the state, while also providing support for lung cancer screenings in an effort to reduce the burden of chronic disease for all Vermonters.
National Lung Cancer Screening Day
The American Cancer Society National Lung Cancer Roundtable (ACS NLCRT), GO2 for Lung Cancer (GO2), Radiology Health Equity Coalition (RHEC), and American College of Radiology (ACR) partnered once again for the third annual National Lung Cancer Screening Day (NLCSD) on Saturday, November 9, 2024.
The National Lung Cancer Screening Day campaign has two main goals. (1) Raise awareness of early cancer detection through regular lung cancer screening and (2) Reduce access disparities.
The campaign asks screening facilities to open their doors on the second Saturday in November for low-dose CT (LDCT) lung screening. It also seeks to raise overall awareness of the importance of lung cancer screening in the United States. Join us in 2025 to raise awareness for lung cancer screening and help save lives.
2024 NLCSD VT Partners: Screening sites: University of Vermont Cancer Center, Northwestern Medical Center and Southwestern Vermont Medical Center. VTAAC, 802Quits and the American Cancer Society were information-sharing partners.
Interested in participating in NLCSD this year? Email coordinator@vtaac.org to get involved.
We hope to grow our list of participating partners for 2025.
November National Lung Cancer Screening Month Resources
Lung Cancer Awareness Month is November! VTAAC and other partners across the state will be promoting lung cancer screening throughout the month and will be using the social media toolkit found below designed with support from the Dartmouth Cancer Center. Reach out to coordinator@vtaac.org with questions.
802Quits: Vermont’s resource for quitting smoking and other tobacco resources
Most Vermonters who smoke want to quit. You may be one of them, or know someone who is trying to quit tobacco, vaping or nicotine. Although it can be hard, with the right tools and support, you can do it. Whether you want to quit cigarettes, cigars, cigarillos, smokeless tobacco/chew, heat-not-burn tobacco products, nicotine pouches or vaping devices (either traditional or disposable types), 802quits, Vermont’s free quit smoking and tobacco resource, is here to help.
Research shows that it can take up to 11 tries before a successful quit. With each attempt you learn something new about yourself and what works, bringing you closer to a life without nicotine and tobacco. Quitting is possible; you just haven’t finished yet!
- Personalized counseling, tips and tools to quit any nicotine or tobacco product
- Free nicotine replacement patches, gum or lozenges, delivered directly to your home*
- Help creating a customized quit plan that works for you
- Interpretation services are available at 1-800-QUIT-NOW
Translation services are offered at 802quits.org
Starting is easy! Call 1-800-QUIT-NOR or visit the website.
*Some people who use tobacco also benefit from extended use of nicotine replacement therapy, an effective, approved and safe way to quit any form of tobacco product, even those that contain high levels of nicotine. Nicotine replacement therapy reduces withdrawal symptoms and increases quit success.
It is also no secret that smoking is a financial burden. Quitting can save you money in the long term and improve your finances. To learn more about the true cost of smoking, check out 802Quits’ Smoking Calculator.