Laundry day is Gretchen Bailey’s favorite day on the farm in Panton, Vermont. When the sun’s out and a breeze is kicking, she’ll wash a load of sheets and gets them on the line, where they dry in an hour. Gretchen is not one to waste time. Back when their dairy farm was active, she helped her husband with the cows while also working as a bookkeeper at Hannaford Career Center in Middlebury. “I don't have a passion for anything in particular, but I have to do something—I don't care what it is,” she says.  

That do-something instinct kicked in when Gretchen’s pulmonologist at the University of Vermont Medical Center (UVMMC), Elena Kozakewich, MD, told her she was an ideal candidate for a lung cancer screening. “It made sense: I smoked a little for a long time, so I got screened,” she says. “It was painless, really. All you do is lie down, they do the CT scan, and you're done. Piece of cake.”  

Something came up in the scan, so Dr. Kozakewich ordered a biopsy, which at the time had to be done out of state. The results came back negative, but Dr. Kozakewich disagreed. “She said, ‘They may have missed it. Would you do another biopsy?’ I said, sure. So I did another one, this time at UVMMC,” says Gretchen.   

The second biopsy revealed that Gretchen had Stage 1 lung cancer. When caught early, lung cancer is highly treatable, so Gretchen had options: she could have chemotherapy, radiation, or surgery to remove the lower left lung. She decided on surgery because she didn’t want to deal with side effects from treatments. “I’m the kind of person to get it over and done with,” Gretchen says. “There wasn't a second thought about doing anything other than having it removed and continuing on with my life.”  

In 2021, doctors removed Gretchen's lower lung and a few surrounding lymph nodes. When asked what the hardest part of the experience was, she says: “Nothing. I felt like I was in a hotel. I was looked after by three of the best nurses I've ever had in my life.” She recovered at home, and was out and about six weeks later, doing chores (like laundry) and socializing. She was even able to attend her own retirement party from the career center. In fact, Gretchen was doing all the things she used to do, but better. “My breathing improved, and my pulmonary tests were better than they were before I had my lower lobe removed,” she says.    

Gretchen can understand why people who are candidates for a screening might put it off. "I think the scary part is not the screening itself but finding out what the results are,” she says. But not knowing was a risk Gretchen refused to take. “If I hadn't had that screening, I could have died of lung cancer.” 

Is Lung Screening Right for You?  

Find out more about lung screenings by visiting the Vermonters Taking Action Against Cancer (VTAAC) website, which tells you everything you need to know about eligibility, process, and screening locations.