Lynn Butterly Honored by ACS for Cancer Prevention
December 04, 2007
Lebanon, NH
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Lynn F. Butterly, M.D., Director, Colorectal Cancer Screening, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. |
Dr. Lynn Butterly, M.D., Director of Colorectal Cancer Screening for Dartmouth-Hitchcock, was recently presented the Singer Family Award for outstanding achievements in furthering the mission of the American Cancer Society (ACS) in New Hampshire. The award is named in honor of one of the Society's longtime benefactors.
Butterly first began volunteering for the American Cancer Society in 2000 with a project to educate patients and primary care providers on the need for colon cancer screening. She also conceived and designed the New Hampshire Colorectal Cancer Screening Community Outreach Project, and led a group of volunteers traveling to underserved areas of the state to perform informational screening fairs. Because of this and other similar efforts, the colon cancer screening rate in New Hampshire rose from 46% to 64% during that seven-year period. Butterly has also been Chair of the New Hampshire Comprehensive Cancer Collaboration (CCC) since its inception in 2003. In this role, she has been instrumental in the development, implementation, and funding of the New Hampshire State Cancer Plan, which will lead to fewer cases of cancer, fewer deaths, and an improved quality of life for all New Hampshire residents.
"This award is a tremendous honor and I am especially pleased to be recognized by an organization that does such important work throughout New Hampshire," Butterly said. "It has been a privilege to work with the ACS, and together, we anticipate that the work of the Comprehensive Cancer Collaboration will have a significant impact on cancer in this state."
"Her ability to convince medical professionals of the need to make colorectal cancer screening a top priority is of enormous benefit," said Joanne Gersten, State Vice President and Cancer Control Specialist for the American Cancer Society. "She is a role model for other physicians and health care professionals in the state and has become indispensable in her current role. Lynn Butterly has served as a highly effective colon cancer spokesperson to both the public, and to her fellow health care professionals, as well as in her testimony before the Legislature to secure funding for the CCC."
Butterly has volunteered her time to offer Continuing Medical Education lectures to health care providers throughout the state, including in rural, underserved areas. She was also instrumental in facilitating the 2007 signing of an agreement between the American Cancer Society and Norris Cotton Cancer Center, the first such agreement in New England with a National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center. The agreement expresses the two organizations' shared commitment to comprehensive patient care, heightened awareness, and cancer prevention and early detection at all levels in the community, and increases their collaboration toward common goals in support of cancer patients and their families.
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Norris Cotton Cancer Center combines advanced cancer research at Dartmouth Medical School with patient-centered cancer care at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, NH, and regional locations in St. Johnsbury, VT, and Manchester and Nashua, NH. It is one of 39 centers nationwide to earn the National Cancer Institute's "Comprehensive Cancer Center" designation. Learn more about Norris Cotton Cancer Center research, programs, and clinical trials online at www.cancer.dartmouth.edu.
The American Cancer Society is dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by saving lives, diminishing suffering, and preventing cancer through research, education, advocacy, and service. Founded in 1913 and with national headquarters in Atlanta, the Society has 13 regional Divisions and local offices in 3,400 communities, involving millions of volunteers across the United States. For more information anytime, call toll free 1-800-ACS-2345 or visit www.cancer.org.
For more information contact Jason Aldous at (603) 653-1913.
