A GRANDAD and former marathon runner from Farnworth is urging others to go for their lung health checks when invited after his trip to the clinic – based in a supermarket car park — showed he had lung cancer, despite him having no symptoms at all.
Tom Harrison, 70, who is an avid golfer, received his lung cancer diagnosis in late November 2024 after attending NHS Lung Cancer Screening onboard a mobile clinic parked outside a Tesco in Atherton, Wigan. His wife, Trisha, 59, had been invited a few weeks earlier and was told she was at low risk of developing lung cancer over the next five years.
Tom, who is retired, said: “We were both ex-smokers, but we gave up 14 years ago and I felt completely fine. I had no cough, no breathing issues — nothing. Trisha got her letter first, and then I got mine a few weeks later. I only went because I thought, well, why not?”
That decision likely saved his life.
After answering questions from a specialist nurse at the clinic, Tom was found to be at higher risk of lung cancer and was offered a low-dose CT scan on the mobile clinic that same day. Just two days later, Tom received a call asking him to attend Eccles Diagnostic Centre for further tests. It was there that Tom met with consultant Dr Seamus Grundy — and Trisha, acting on instinct, rushed over from her work on Trafford Park just in time to be by his side.
Tom said: “At first, they tested my breathing function and then I went through to see Dr Grundy. As soon as I walked into the room and saw him and two nurses, I knew something was up. He told me they’d found something, but it had been caught at a very early stage. You could have knocked me over with a feather when I got the news. I’d had no symptoms at all. We had a little cry and then spoke about my treatment. One of the things I remember most was that Dr Grundy was very positive about the treatment.”
Tom was diagnosed with lung cancer, but it had been found at the earliest stage – stage 1. Thanks to the early detection, Tom underwent surgery to remove part of his lung in January 2025 at Wythenshawe Hospital. He recovered quickly, helped by his lifetime of physical activity and pre-surgery NHS fitness training (prehab4cancer) at Worsley Health Centre. Tests showed his cancer had not spread to his lymph nodes, meaning he didn’t need chemotherapy.
He said: “Now I’m cancer-free and I’ve just got back to playing golf which was my goal that kept me going. I’m now looking forward to a golf holiday this summer.”
Tom and Trisha’s message is simple: attend your lung health check when you get the invite.
The NHS is currently rolling out Lung Cancer Screening for smokers and people who used to smoke aged 55 to 74 across Greater Manchester over the next few months and years. Patients are invited by their GP practices when the mobile clinic visits their area.
Tom said: “That check saved my life. If I’d waited another year, it could have been too late.”
Trisha adds: “There must have been an angel looking down on us. I’m such an advocate for lung health checks now. When you get your invite, please — even if you feel fine — go!”
Lung Cancer Screening is jointly organised by the Greater Manchester Cancer Alliance and Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust and supported by the Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust.
So far more than 900 patients have been diagnosed with lung cancer as a result of the Lung Health Checks in Greater Manchester, however, almost 80% of these patients were diagnosed at stage 1 or 2 meaning they were more likely to be eligible for curative treatment.
For more information about Lung Cancer Screening, please visit www.mft.nhs.uk/lunghealthcheck
QUOTE FOR MEN’S HEALTH WEEK:
Tom Harrison, a grandad and former marathon runner from Farnworth in Bolton, received a letter from his GP inviting him to attend Lung Cancer Screening on board a mobile clinic which was parked at Tesco in Atherton, Wigan. Tom’s wife also got an invite and encouraged him to go too.
The check found Tom, 70, was at higher risk of lung cancer and so he had a low-dose CT scan at the mobile clinic that same day. Two days later he was told he needed to have some further tests at the Community Diagnostic Centre in Eccles. It was here he discovered he had lung cancer but it had been caught at a very early stage.
Now Tom is encouraging everyone who gets an invite to attend their Lung Cancer Screening. The checks are currently in the process of being rolled out across Greater Manchester and are for 55-74 year olds who are current or former smokers.
Tom said: “That check definitely saved my life. I was told if I’d waited another year it could have been a very different story.
“I didn’t have any symptoms and I’d given up smoking 14 years ago so I didn’t think they’d find anything. But it just goes to show that it is always important to go and get checked out.”
