2026 Conference

Dates: Oct 15-17, 2026
Location: Boston Harbor Hyatt
Theme: Continuing to make global progress in CT Lung Screening
Rescue Lung Society 2026 Conference Agenda

Patient Navigation Workshop – Approaches to Eliminating Barriers in CT Lung Screening Patient Navigation
Thursday Oct 15; 5:30pm – 8:00pm (Limited attendance – separate registration)
5:30pm – 6:00pm – Dinner & Networking

Moderators: Debby Lally, Rush University Medical Center, USA & Michelle Futrell, Lungevity, USA

• Keynote: Lung Cancer Navigation & Care: Comprehensive Guide for Patient Navigators and Allied Health Professionals – Joelle Fathi, University of Washington, GO2 Foundation, USA (20 min)

Panelists: Gean Brown, Smilow Cancer Center CT, USA Elizabeth Wilson, Lahey Hospital & Medical Center, MA, USA Joelle Fathi, University of Washington WA, USA, Rochelle Waddell, Appalachian Regional Healthcare Kentucky, USA Panels provide 5 min overview presentation w/slides on their programs Each panelist presents a case study of a challenging case in patient navigation in CT lung screening. Panel and audience discuss approaches for each case.

Potential Case Studies:

• Inconsistent guidelines—not all covered by insurance/Medicare e.g. ACS no years since quit, NCCN, etc.
• How to integrate and navigate IPN follow-up; Fleishner vs LungRADS
• Reimbursement challenges for follow-ups for positive baseline/annual scans
• Challenges with preauthorization for baseline scans
• Filling out MyChart Smoking History (protect tobacco use data when merging/doing updates)
• Challenges with ensuring proper ICD codes when ordering CT Lung Screening scans

7:00am – 8:00am – Registration and Breakfast
8:00am – 8:15am – Welcome – Jacob Sands, Dana Farber Cancer Center, Rescue Lung Society, USA
8:15am – 10:15am – Global CT Lung Screening and Health Policy Perspectives – Moderator Yeon Wook Kim, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Korea (15 min talks—30 min Q&A at end)

• WHO Lung Heath Resolution – implementation status – Helena Wilcox, Lung Cancer Policy Network, UK
• WHO/IARC Handbook on Lung Cancer Screening – Xiaoshvang Feng, IARC, France
• Strengthening the Screening of Lung Cancer in Europe (SOLACE) – policy recommendations and vision for expanding successful screening approaches across all EU Member States. – Anna Kerpel-Fronius, National Korányi Institute of Pulmonology Hungary
• The Estonian CT Lung Screening Experience – Tanel Laisaar, Tartu University Hospital Estonia
• Australia National Screening Program after Two Years – Vivian Milch, Cancer Australia
• Lung Cancer Screening and Pulmonary Nodule Management in China – Chunxue Bai, Shanghai Respiratory Research Institute and Chinese Alliance Against Cancer, China

10:15am – 10:35am – Break
10:35am – 12:30am – Research, Clinical Trial, and Study Updates – Moderator: Kevin ten Haaf , Erasmus, Netherlands (20 min talks; 30 min Pro/Con)

• Five year summary of UK National Lung Cancer Screening Program – Phil Crosbie, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, UK
• Germany – HANSE Experience/Next Steps Effectiveness of NELSON versus PLCOm2012 lung cancer screening eligibility criteria in Germany (HANSE): a prospective cohort study – Prof Jens Vogel-Claussen, Department of Radiology, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany
• Patient Navigation for Lung Cancer Screening at a Health Care for the Homeless Program – Travis Baggett, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, USA
• Evaluating Early Stage Lung Cancer Survival at Upper Age Limit of Screening – Matthew T. Warkentin, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Canada
• LungRADS vs PanCan Screening Management Systems – Stephen Lam, British Columbia Cancer Center, Canada
• Lung Cancer Screening in Those Who Never Smoked Study (FALCONS) – Martin Tammemagi, Brock University, Canada

7:00am – Breakfast and Registration

8:00am – 8:30am – Brady McKee Excellence in Lung Cancer Screening Award – Andrea McKee, Radiation Oncology Associates, PA / Rescue Lung Society, USA

8:30am – 10:50am – Patient Perspectives – Moderator – Dusty Donaldson, LiveLung, USA

• Panel discussion patient advocates as research partners (status, benefits, challenges, future directions, STARR program, Biomarker driven patient communities/research) – (1.5 hours; 10 min statements; 30 min Q& A) Moderator Janet Freeman-Daily, ROS1ders, USA
  – Dave Bjork, USA, Stacey Tinnianov, USA, Bill Norris, USA TBD researcher, Paul Hesketh, Lahey Hospital & Medical Center, USA

Pro/Con Is fight language helpful for patients and their loved ones? Jill Feldman, EGFR Resistors, USA – No/Heidi Onda, The White Ribbon Project, USA – Yes (30 min)

10:50am – 11:10am – Break

11:10am – 12:10pm; 1:10pm – 4:00pm – CT Lung Screening Implementation Best Practices and Improvement Opportunities (15 min talks; 5 min Q&A) – Moderators: TBD and Matthew Callister, Department of Respiratory Medicine, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, University of Leeds, UK

• Expanding Access and Equity in Lung Cancer Screening: A Navigator-Centric Model at the Largest Municipal Hospital System in the U.S. – Albina Shkolnik, NYC Health + Hospitals, USA, Jody Steinhardt, NYC Health + Hospitals, USA
• Examining trends in lung cancer screening over 10 years: Eligibility, participation, cancer detection, and quality implications – Debra P. Ritzwoller, Institute for Health Research, Kaiser Permanente, USA
• Tracking and Reporting Quality Indicators – Shawn Regis, Rescue Lung Society, USA

12:10pm – 1:10pm – Lunch
1:10pm – 4:00pm – CT Lung Screening Implementation Best Practices and Improvement Opportunities

• Program structures for CT Lung Screening and Incidental Pulmonary Nodule Management – Carey Thomson, Beth Israel Lahey Health, Harvard Medical School, USA (20 min; 5 min Q&A)
• Effective management of incidental findings in lung cancer screening: the role of the screening review meeting – David Baldwin,  Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, UK (15 min; 5 min Q&A)
• Barriers and Facilitators to Accurate Smoking History – Efren Flores, Massachusetts General Hospital, USA
• Red, White and Screen Initiative – Sabrina Moffat, Advocate Aurora Health, USA (15 min; 5 min Q&A)
• Comprehensive Big 3 CT Lung Screening – Lung Cancer, CAC and COPD – David Yankelevitz, Icahn School of Medicine, USA (15 min; 5 min Q&A)
• Misinformation and Overestimation of Computed Tomography Lung Cancer Screening Harms: Methodology Matters – Elliot Servais, Lahey Hospital & Medical Center, USA (15 min; 5 min Q&A)

Pro/Con SBRT vs Surgery for Early Stage LC – Andrea McKee, Radiation Oncology Associates, PA / Rescue Lung Society, USA (Pro SBRT) and Mara Antonoff, MD Anderson, USA (Pro surgery) (30 min)

4:00pm – 4:15pm – Close out and final thoughts – Jacob Sands, Dana Farber Cancer Center, Rescue Lung Society