NHS issues urgent warning to all current and former cigarette smokers as the new ‘Targeted Lung Health Check Programme’ is launched
The NHS has issued an urgent ‘cancer warning’ to all current and former cigarette smokers and urged them to get checked!
As part of a new ‘Targeted Lung Health Check Programme’ initiative NHS chiefs are urging people to take up invitations for lung cancer check-ups after hundreds were diagnosed with the disease in mobile trucks.
NHS mobile teams have so far diagnosed 600 people with the Lung Cancer disease in travelling trucks which have been visiting community sites across the UK like supermarkets and sports centres piloting the new drive.
It comes as new figures show that only just over a third (35%) of patients go to their lung health check when invited by the NHS.
The ‘NHS Warning’ states that those most at risk of lung cancer, like former and current smokers, are invited for a lung “MOT” in the mobile trucks.
A further 20 NHS lung truck sites are due to go live shortly with the capacity to invite 750,000 more people at increased risk for a check, in an effort to catch thousands more cancers at an early stage.
The NHS state that these lung checks can save lives – by going out into the communities, more people are being found who would not otherwise have realised they have lung cancer. Hundreds have already been diagnosed and hundreds of thousands due to be invited for a check-up.
Lung cancer can often be hard to detect at an early stage and so these checks, close to people’s homes, show how the NHS is taking action to find more people with cancer.
Catching cancer early is key to being able to treat it effectively and the health service is urging people to go and get a check for lung cancer in community testing sites, known as the ‘Targeted Lung Health Check Programme.’
The NHS state that people diagnosed with lung cancer at the earliest stage are nearly 20 times more likely to survive than those whose cancer is caught late.
The mobile teams have so far diagnosed 600 people with the disease in their travelling trucks up and down the country.
Am I eligible for a lunch cancer check?
The NHS is inviting those most at risk of lung cancer to the check-ups and these people include current and ex-smokers.
The NHS state that since the initiative was recently launched, 77% found to have lung cancer were caught at either stage one or two, giving patients a better chance of survival.
Despite this, the NHS has been forced to urge at-risk patients to come forward for their checks. Their data says that only 35% of patients go to their lung check when invited by the NHS.
Smokers or former smokers between 55 and 74 are invited to speak to a healthcare professional for a scan.
Where can I get the NHS lung cancer check?
For those invited, the NHS lung trucks are conveniently located at “community sites including supermarket car parks, sports and shopping centres”.
Around 1.5 million people will be invited to attend by 2024-2025, though this shouldn’t stop people from going to their doctor if they have concerns.
The NHS advise that people with concerns and those with worrying symptoms or those who have been coughing for three weeks or more, should contact their GP and get checked out.
What Are the Symptoms of Lung Cancer?
- Coughing that gets worse or doesn’t go away.
- Chest pain that is often worse with deep breathing, coughing, or laughing..
- Shortness of breath.
- Coughing up blood or rust-coloured sputum (spit or phlegm).
- Feeling very tired or weak all the time.
- Loss of appetite
- Weight loss with no known cause.
- Infections such as bronchitis and pneumonia that don’t go away or keep coming back
Attachment:
Spot Lung Cancer Early – Cancer Research UK Leaflet
Yours Sincerely
Dave Joyce
National Health, Safety & Environment Officer
CWU Eastern No5 Branch 
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