At a March 20 Boston City Council Committee hearing, VA researchers, city officials and community veterans outlined outreach to increase lung cancer screening for Black veterans and described disparities in diagnosis and treatment.

"Eight thousand veterans are diagnosed with lung cancer each year," said Dr. Rhonda Weiner, pulmonary physician and principal investigator of the VetPeerConnect study at VA Boston. "Five thousand veterans die each year from lung cancer," she added, translating those deaths to "an average of 15 veterans every day." Weiner told the committee that veterans face higher lung cancer rates than the general U.S. population because of higher smoking prevalence and service-related toxic exposures such as Agent Orange, burn pits and asbestos.

Weiner said lung cancer screening with an annual low-dose chest CT reduces the risk of dying of lung cancer by about 20 percent among high-risk people and that VA patients are more likely to have their cancers detected at an early, treatable stage. She also said fewer than 20 percent of eligible Americans have been screened for lung cancer and that Black people are screened at lower rates than other groups.

The VetPeerConnect outreach program, which Weiner leads, partners with Black veterans and community organizations (including NABVETS, the National Association for Black Veterans) to hold community events where veterans can learn about screening and be referred to VA screening programs. Weiner said community-led events have helped "build connections and trust between the community and the VA" and that some veterans who attended events subsequently pursued screening.

Rob Santiago, commissioner of the City of Boston Office of Veterans Services, and community advocate Haywood (whose last name was given in testimony) described local outreach and suggested replicable community models. Santiago noted strong local programs at VA Boston and city coordination with posts such as the William McCarter American Legion Post.

Speakers urged more culturally sensitive outreach and stronger representation of clinicians of color in VA care. Weiner and partners cited a VA Boston thoracic surgeon, Dr. Fatima Wilder, who participates in community events to model culturally sensitive conversations about screening.

The committee did not take votes. Members said they would pursue additional listening sessions and community outreach to improve screening uptake and reduce disparities.