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New free CE Training: Strategies for Talking to Cancer Patients About Tobacco Use

Don’t miss this upcoming FREE, virtual CE training on November 29, 2022 about how to tailor your smoking cessation message for cancer patients


More than 160,000 people in the U.S. die from a smoking-related cancer each year. Most of these are lung cancer deaths, which is the top cancer killer of both U.S. men and women.

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) recently released a report that asserts that “quitting smoking is among the most effective treatment options for improving the likelihood of survival, quality of life, and overall health of people with cancer who smoke.” We also recently shared the benefits of quitting smoking after a breast cancer diagnosis, including decrease risk of cancer recurrence and improved survival. Every patient receiving cancer care should be told about the benefits of quitting tobacco and offered assistance in becoming tobacco free.


Talking to patients about their tobacco use after a cancer diagnosis requires a nuanced approach. The Duke Smoking Cessation Program has partnered with the North Carolina Oncology Navigator Association (NCONA) and other local cancer advocacy and treatment groups to offer a free CE training—Ask, Advise, Refer: Strategies for Talking to Cancer Patients About Tobacco Use—in honor of Lung Cancer Screening Awareness Month and the Great American Smokeout, a yearly event held each November encouraging tobacco users to try quitting.

Event Speakers:

  • Sarah Arthur, MBA (Comprehensive Cancer Control Action Plan 2020-2025 Overview)

  • Ronny A. Bell, PhD, MS (NC Advisory Committee on Cancer Coordination and Control, Prevention Subcommittee Overview)

  • Megan Keith, MSW, LCSW (Ask, Advise, Refer: Strategies for Talking to Cancer Patients about Tobacco Use Presentation)

  • Jean Sellers, RN, MSN (NC Oncology Navigator Association Overview)

  • Kearston L. Ingraham, MPH (Moderator)


The class will be held virtually on November 29th from 11:30 am to 1:00 pm EST. Attendees will receive 1 hour of CE credit through Duke University Health System Clinical Education and Professional Development, which is accredited by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), to provide continuing education for clinicians from several disciplines.


Register for this FREE virtual training by November 28 at 5 pm to secure a spot! Click here to register now.


Learn more about the Duke-UNC Tobacco Treatment Specialist Training Program here.



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