Three nurses stand in a car park in front of a mobile clinic with the words Finding lung cancer early can make a big difference written on the side

Greater Manchester has diagnosed the most lung cancers in the country as part of Lung Cancer Screening, as the NHS encourages more people to take up their lung health check when they get their invite.

The city is one of the first areas in England to roll out NHS lung cancer screening across all 10 of its localities, achieving the national target four years ahead of schedule.

Four nurses stand in a car park in front of a Stagecoach bus and an NHS mobile clinic with the words Finding lung cancer early can make a big difference written on the sideNew figures released ahead of Lung Cancer Awareness Month in November reveal that 1,829 lung cancers have now been diagnosed through the NHS Lung Cancer Screening Programme in Greater Manchester, with more than 80% detected at an earlier stage, giving people more treatment options and a better chance of survival.

The targeted programme invites people registered with a GP in Greater Manchester who are aged 55 to 74 and who currently smoke or have smoked in the past for a lung health check on a mobile clinic which tours the city. Those identified as high risk are then offered a low-dose CT scan, capable of detecting lung cancer before symptoms develop.

More than 208,738 lung health checks have now been carried out in Greater Manchester with 95,001 people going on to be referred for low‑dose CT.

Most of these people get reassurance that everything is OK but if anything is detected people are offered follow up tests or treatment.

The NHS in Greater Manchester is reminding everyone how important it is to attend their lung cancer screening when they get their invite. And they want people who have previously been invited but who did not take up their screening to get back in touch and re-book their screening.

A new awareness campaign will be shown across the city on billboards, bus stops and social media promoting this message. It features three patients – Ken, Phil and Gillian – who all discovered they had lung cancer after attending the screening and have been treated successfully as well as three video stories to dispel three common reasons people give for not attending: thinking they are too young, being busy and not having symptoms.

The NHS says that Lung Cancer Screening is quick and easy – usually only taking around 20 minutes – with clinics open from 8am until 8pm six-days a week.

In Greater Manchester, the screening programme is jointly organised by the Greater Manchester Cancer Alliance and Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust with support from the Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust.

Portrait photo of Sarah Taylor a white woman with straight dark blonde hair against a purple backdropDr Sarah Taylor, Associate Medical Director for Primary Care at Greater Manchester Cancer Alliance, said: “It’s fantastic news that NHS Lung Cancer Screening is now operating across Greater Manchester.

“We’d urge everyone who is invited to come for your lung health check when you get your invite. If you’ve had an invitation – in the post or by text message – and didn’t attend, then please get back in touch and re-book your appointment. You can do this by visiting the website (www.mft.nhs.uk/lunghealthcheck) or calling 0161 529 0900.”

Professor Richard Booton, Clinical Director for Lung Cancer at Wythenshawe Hospital, said: “We are incredibly proud of the work that’s been done to make Greater Manchester one of the first in the country to bring lung cancer screening to all areas of our community.

“Detecting lung cancer earlier gives our patients the best possible treatment options and outcomes. Lung cancer is one of the highest cancer rates, and causes of death, in our region so we’ve been working hard to reduce health inequalities, bring services closer to people and help people come forward for screening, it is saving lives.

“We know that around 100,000 people in the region have not taken up the screening opportunity yet, and that we will be reaching out to them to reconsider. I hope hearing the success of the screening in detecting lung cancer earlier and giving people treatment options will prompt them to come to their screening.”

Most people who come for screening won’t have lung cancer but for the very small proportion of people who do go on to get a lung cancer diagnosis their cancer is usually found at an earlier stage when it’s much more likely to be treatable.

Ken a man with grey hair and a beard sits on a bench in a park wearing a checked shirt and shortsKen Roberts, a 74 year-old manufacturing company director from Ladybridge, Bolton, had no symptoms when he was invited for a lung health check when a mobile scanning unit was parked at Morrisons in Bolton last year.

Thanks to screening, the granddad-of-seven discovered he had stage 1 lung cancer and underwent successful surgery.

Ken said: “I just feel really lucky that I went for that lung health check as I so nearly didn’t go. And I’m telling everyone to go for theirs when they get the invite.

“Without this scheme many of us – like me – wouldn’t have known we had lung cancer and got help for it.”

Gillian a white woman in her 60s with chin length grey hair and glasses sits indoors and smiles at the camera Although a few members of her family had died from lung cancer, Gillian Glynn, from Wigan, didn’t have any particular worries about her health. But Gillian’s check found she had lung cancer and she had surgery to remove the tumour last September. Now she’s doing well.

Phil a white man in his mid-60s with glasses and a bald head sits with a mug of tea in a kitchenEx-smoker Phil Bennett, from Droylsden, Manchester, was busy with work and initially ignored the invite because he felt OK. But later due to some delays at work, Phil was left with a bit of free time, so he decided to re-book and attended the mobile clinic when it was based at Asda in Ashton-under-Lyme in December 2021.

The check Phil discovered he needed a further investigation at hospital and he was shocked to discover he had lung cancer. He had successful surgery at Wythenshawe Hospital in 2022.

Phil said: “I’m lucky I decided to re-book and go for my lung health check. I’d strongly advise anyone to go when they get the letter. It could potentially save your life. It did for me.”

For more information about NHS Lung Cancer Screening in Greater Manchester visit: https://www.mft.nhs.uk/lunghealthcheck