A woman wearing glasses stood in front of a red balloon

An Irlam lady is urging people in Salford to take up their free NHS lung health checks after her check-up saved her life.

The NHS in Salford is offering free Lung Health Checks to past and current smokers aged 55 to 74 who are registered with a GP in the Eccles and Irlam areas.

Eligible people will be contacted by letter and invited for an appointment.

Lorraine didn’t have any symptoms of lung cancer. She credits her Lung Health Check with saving her life.

A woman wearing a white vest top sits next to a golden dogLorraine Bradley, 66, from Irlam, Salford, went for her first Lung Health Check at Salford Royal Hospital three years ago and was given a scan. After that she was offered follow up surveillance scans which she had for a few years.

When Lorraine went for one of her surveillance scans last year it showed she might have an infection on her left lung. However, the next surveillance scan in October last year (2023) showed there was still something showing as a lump on her lung and she was referred for further tests.

Doctors advised Lorraine to have surgery to remove the lump in January this year and it turned out it turned out to be an 18mm cancerous tumour.

Lorraine said: “People please have your Lung Health Check. I did and it basically saved my life!

“I had my first lung check three years ago and have been going for regular surveillance scans ever since. Last year it found an 18mmm tumour which turned out to be lung cancer even though I didn’t have any symptoms. I was walking every day. I wasn’t getting breathless. Without the Lung Health Check I wouldn’t have known anything was wrong. The cancer could have been growing and then it could have been too late.

“By going for my check it got picked up early. I only needed one operation – in on the Friday and out on the Sunday – and no chemotherapy or radiotherapy because they’d caught it so early.

“I’d tell anyone who gets an invite to please, please go and do the Lung Health Check. It really did save my life.”

Patients who are invited for a lung health check will firstly talk to specialist nurse where they will answer some health and lifestyle questions which will determine whether they are ‘high’ or ‘low’ risk. If deemed high risk, they will be offered a low-dose computed tomography (CT) scan of their lungs for further investigation on the same day and be enrolled into the programme.

Most visitors to the Lung Health Checks will get reassurance that everything is OK or be referred to get help to stop smoking.

Look out for an invitation letter from your GP. If you have already received your invitation but missed your appointment, please contact us on 0161 529 0900 to rebook.

Find out more about the Lung Health Checks in Salford. 

Invitations are currently being sent out to people aged 55-74 who are current or former smokers in the Eccles and Irlam area.