COLLABORATING WITH DUSTY's CATSKAN VAN JOURNEY
When Dusty Donaldson, 71 year old lung cancer survivor, LiveLung founder, and a close-ALCSI mentor, planned to drive 12,000+ miles and make 45 stops across America to honor her 20 years with a lung cancer diagnosis, ALCSI knew we had to join her.
Dusty x ALCSI stops and timeline
October 2nd, 2025 - Houston
Rice University
We kicked off our time with Dusty with warmth, love, and smiles from Houston, hosted by our Rice University ALCSI chapter. Our student volunteers were able to hear about Dusty's experiences as a patient, advocate, and leader, while touring and cleaning the beautiful CATSkan Van!
October 6th, 2025 - LA
University of California, Los Angeles
When Dusty came to our UCLA ALCSI Chapter, she was greeted by a dozen of our UCLA volunteers and hosted as an esteemed guest speaker! Our volunteers learned how to advocate for lung cancer screening access and were inspired by Dusty's powerful, personal experiences.
October 12th, 2025 - Seattle
University of Washington
Seattle rainfall keeps cars clean, but our ALCSI volunteers make them cleaner! When Dusty stopped by our University of Washington chapter, our volunteers meticulously washed the beautiful CATSkan Van. While Dusty and our volunteers cleaned the vehicle, our volunteers spoke to Dusty about her journey, both on the road and with her diagnosis—a carwash like no other.
October 19th - St. Louis
St. Louis University
In St. Louis, our student volunteers grabbed lunch with Dusty, learning more about her incredible documentary, her book, and all the amazing work she has done with LiveLung. Refueled and re-energized, our ALCSI volunteers had a wonderful time hearing about all the amazing things Dusty is doing, while driving over 12,000 miles across the country.
October 21st - Chicago
University of Chicago
The windy city was full of smiles and books as the University of Chicago chapter surprised Dusty at her parking spot! Volunteers were given copies of Dusty's new book, and Dusty, as well as esteemed co-guest, Lisa Hinton from the American Cancer Society, were panelists for an enlightening Q&A session, moderated by ALCSI's Executive Director, Donna Tong.
October 24th - Ann Arbor
University of Michigan
As Dusty drove through the Midwest, our University of Michigan ALCSI Chapter greeted her with another one of our esteemed physician mentors, Dr. Ella Kazerooni! It is such an honor to learn from two amazing role models—Dusty and Dr. Kazerooni. It was a wonderful day in Ann Arbor for our ALCSI team!
October 28th - Boston
Harvard, Northeastern, Boston College,
Tufts, Wellesley
In Boston, ALCSI's founder, Dr. Jeff Yang, along with Harvard, Northeastern, Boston College, and Wellesley ALCSI members, cheered Dusty on as she arrived! We also attended the Upstage Lung Cancer Concert, where we were joined by fellow advocates and ALCSI mentors, Heidi Onda, Rosemary Conway, and Jennifer Moran!
October 31st — New York
New York University
The big city drew a big crowd to Dusty's arrival! Our ALCSI NYU chapter turned a team of NYU and Columbia medicine staff into Dusty's cheerleaders. Dusty's pit stop in New York was filled with hugs, stories, and book signings!
November 3rd - Washington D.C.
George Washington University
The last stop! Our George Washington University ALCSI Chapter was so proud to welcome Dusty to her destination. That evening, our team had the amazing opportunity to attend the LiveLung press conference and help Dusty and LiveLung continue to press forward in the journey to increasing lung cancer screening rates!
Thank you Dusty and LiveLung!
We were inspired, moved, and honored to have been part of this incredible journey. We continue to walk alongside our mentors, lung cancer survivors, and fellow lung cancer screening advocates, with all of our energy and excitement!