Hopes NHS lung cancer screening will save lives

Thousands of smokers and ex-smokers will be invited for free NHS lung cancer screening to help detect the disease early.

The new service will start in Peterborough and Huntingdon within the next few weeks, with people at higher risk of lung cancer getting a letter inviting them to book a screening appointment.

They will first be assessed by a nurse on the phone and - if considered at risk - will be offered a follow-up scan on a mobile unit.

Dr Stuti Mukherjee, clinical lead for cancer and diagnostics at NHS Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, said it could "significantly boost" chances of survival.

"It will likely provide you with peace of mind, but it could also safe your life," he said.

Estimates suggest there are 98,000 people aged 55-74 in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough who smoke or have previously smoked.

That number is expected to rise to more than 110,000 by 2029.

People diagnosed with lung cancer early are nearly 20 times more likely to survive for five years than people whose cancer is caught late.

Dr Robert Buttery, consultant respiratory physician at Royal Papworth Hospital and Hinchingbrooke Hospital, said: "Unfortunately, we know that at present most lung cancers are identified at a relatively late stage, when a curative treatment such as surgery or intensive radiotherapy is not possible.

"However, CT screening will now pick up lung cancers at a much earlier stage of the disease and we know from extensive trial data that we should be able to offer curative treatments for most of the lung cancer patients we identify through the Lung Cancer Screening programme."

As part of the roll-out of the NHS lung cancer screening, everyone eligible for a lung check will be invited by 2029.

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