Past and current smokers in Folkestone and Dover are being urged to take up invitations for a NHS lung health check to help the earlier diagnosis of cancer and save lives.
With Thursday, 1 August being World Lung Cancer Day, NHS Kent and Medway Cancer Alliance is asking people aged 55 to 74, who have received a NHS lung health check invitation, to make their lung check appointment.
The NHS is piloting this new service in locations across England to help diagnose lung cancer at an earlier stage.
One of the highest mortality rates
NHS Kent and Medway Cancer Alliance first launched its pilot lung check programme in November 2022 on the south Kent coast as it has one of the highest mortality rates for lung cancer in England.
More than 9000 people from the area have already had a lung check, with 31 lung cancers diagnosed, the majority at an early stage.
The programme is also taking place in Deal, Sandwich and the Romney Marsh.
Toni Fleming, Lead Macmillan Lung Cancer Clinical Nurse Specialist, East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust said - “The targeted lung health check programme has already been successful locally, detecting lung cancer at an earlier stage and significantly improving patients’ prognosis.
“Sadly, due to there being few to no symptoms at an early stage, lung cancer is regularly diagnosed late, but if caught early, is more treatable and the survival rate is much higher. Attending a lung health check can save lives.”
20 times more likely to survive
People diagnosed with lung cancer early are nearly 20 times more likely to survive for five years than those whose cancer is found late.1
Attending a targeted lung health check can help find issues often before symptoms occur.
The lung health check takes place in two stages. The first is an initial phone assessment with a specially trained health care professional.
If the assessment finds the person to be at high risk, they are offered a CT scan of their lungs at Buckland Hospital in Dover for further investigation.
The programme is designed to check those most at risk of developing lung cancer to spot signs earlier, at the stage when it’s much more treatable.
This offers the opportunity for earlier interventions. Stop smoking advice is also being offered to support current smokers.
For more information on the targeted lung health check programme please visit the webpage on lung health checks in Kent and Medway.
1NHS England (April 2023)
