Are you a current or former smoker? Aged between 55 and 74? You may be eligible for an NHS Lung Health Check
Did you know lung cancer often doesn’t show symptoms until the later stages? The NHS is offering Lung Health Checks to spot issues early, often before you notice any symptoms, allowing us to take fast action and save more lives.
Over the coming months, the NHS will be writing to eligible individuals aged between 55 to 74 to invite them to take part in the screening. The screening takes place in two parts:
- Firstly a phone conversation with a healthcare professional which will focus on breathing, overall lung health, lifestyle, and family history.
- If necessary, the next step will be referral for a low dose, painless CT scan at a mobile scanner, parked in a convenient place.
Why it’s important
- Lung cancer often goes undetected during its early stages, due to there often being no signs of symptoms. Less than 20% of people diagnosed with lung cancer survive for 5 years or more.
- TLHCs help detect cancer at an earlier stage, when curative treatment is more possible.
- To date, 80% of lung cancers found by the TLHC programme have been at stage 1 or stage 2, compared to 30% without this kind of intervention.
For a lot of people, no serious problems are found.
Please keep an eye out for your invitation – if you are eligible for these checks you will be contacted by the NHS. This will probably arrive as a letter in the post and it will include information about who you can contact with further questions.
For further information see here.
