The NHS is encouraging people with symptoms such as a long-standing persistent cough, to visit their GP for potentially lifesaving checks in its latest campaign to catch lung cancer earlier when it is easier to treat.
The launch of the latest Help Us Help You campaign, on World Lung Cancer Day, comes after figures suggest that people at risk of lung cancer may not be coming forward for care despite lung cancer being the biggest cause of cancer deaths in England.
While most other cancer referrals quickly returned to pre-pandemic levels after the first wave of covid-19, lung cancer referrals only returned to pre-pandemic levels in May 2022.
Cancer health chiefs are warning the public to go to their GP if they have had a persistent cough for longer than three weeks or notice other symptoms like coughing up blood or persistent breathlessness.
Around 40,000 cases of lung cancer are diagnosed every year, with the NHS expanding its targeted lung health check programme to ensure it reaches out and screens those most at risk of the cancer.
Lung cancer is one of the most serious type of cancers and last year was the fifth biggest cause of death in England accounting for 26,410 deaths.
Thanks to national awareness campaigns and early diagnosis initiatives, one in every four GP referrals are now for suspected cancer – with the NHS seeing record numbers of people getting checked for cancer over the last year with over 5.3 million people referred between June 2021 and May 2022, and over 670,000 since March 2020 starting treatment.
The latest campaign will target the groups of people most at risk including over 60s, as well as people from more working-class backgrounds who are often more reluctant to visit their GP which is critical to getting an early diagnosis.
Professor Peter Johnson, National Clinical Director for Cancer, said: “We are going further and faster in our efforts to tackle cancer and have seen record numbers of people coming forward for tests and checks in the last year thanks to our campaigns and early diagnosis initiatives, but for lung cancer, we have not seen referrals bounce back at the same rate as other cancers.
“It is vital that people stay alert against suspected lung cancer symptoms, so if you have a continuous cough or breathlessness, don’t ignore or assume it’s something else, please visit your GP and get it checked out – it probably won’t be cancer but catching it early can help save lives.”
The NHS ‘Help Us, Help You’ campaign will run across TV, video-on-demand services such as ITV Hub, radio, and social media over the next few months to spread awareness of lung cancer symptoms.
Cally Palmer, NHS England National Cancer Director said: “We know for a fact most people who get diagnosed with lung cancer early go on to survive so it is imperative that people are aware of the symptoms and come forward as quickly as possible.
“The NHS is here to help and our services are open so people should not hesitate to come forward if they notice potential lung cancer symptoms.”
