Tameside residents among thousands benefitting from mobile lung health checks

More than 1,000 people across Greater Manchester - including residents in Tameside - have received an early lung cancer diagnosis thanks to a pioneering NHS screening programme.

The innovative Lung Health Check initiative, now operating in local supermarket car parks and community spaces, is transforming early detection and saving lives.

Greater Manchester is the first area in England to reach this milestone, with the screening specifically targeting people most at risk, current and former smokers aged 55 to 74. Mobile clinics invite eligible residents for a lung health check, which begins with a consultation with a nurse. If identified as higher risk, attendees are offered a low-dose CT scan on the same day.

Almost 130,000 people in the region have already taken part, with more than 60,000 receiving a scan. Most leave with peace of mind and, for smokers, support on quitting. But for over 1,000 people, including some with no symptoms at all, the checks led to an early lung cancer diagnosis - often long before the disease would typically be discovered.

One such case is 70-year-old Tom Harrison, a grandad and former marathon runner from Farnworth in Bolton. Despite having no symptoms, his lung health check revealed cancer at the earliest stage, stage one. Thanks to the early diagnosis, Tom was able to undergo surgery to remove part of his lung and is now cancer-free.

He said: “My lung health check saved my life so it's fantastic news to hear that more than 1,000 lung cancers have now been found through the checks in Greater Manchester. That's more people who, like me, wouldn't have known they had lung cancer otherwise who can get treated earlier."

Tom Harrison who benefitted from a lung health check with his wife Trish.

Nearly 80% of lung cancers found through the programme have been at stage one or two, when treatment is more likely to be successful. People diagnosed at these stages are nearly 20 times more likely to survive for five years than those diagnosed later.

Lung cancer screening is for current and former smokers aged 55 to 74 who are invited by post or text when the mobile clinic comes to their area.

Professor Richard Booton, Clinical Lead for Lung Cancer at Wythenshawe Hospital part of MFT and Programme Director for the Greater Manchester Lung Cancer Screening programme, said: “We are very proud that Greater Manchester is the first area in the country to reach this milestone. By bringing the clinics directly into the community, we can screen those at most risk and intervene when the cancer is at its most treatable.”

Alison Jones, Director of Cancer Commissioning and Early Diagnosis at Greater Manchester Cancer Alliance, said: “It's fantastic that we have been able to diagnose more than 1,000 people through lung cancer screening in Greater Manchester. Most importantly, over 3 in 4 cancers have been found an early stage when lung cancer is potentially curable.”

Lung cancer is the third most common cancer in the UK and causes around 35,000 deaths each year, with smoking linked to over 70% of cases. Symptoms can include a worsening cough, coughing up blood, persistent breathlessness, fatigue, and unexplained weight loss or loss of appetite.

The screening programme is currently running across Tameside, Salford, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, and parts of Wigan, Bolton, Stockport, Bury, and Trafford. It is jointly delivered by the Greater Manchester Cancer Alliance and Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, supported by the Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust.

Among the symptoms of lung cancer are a long-standing cough that gets worse, coughing up blood, persistent breathlessness, continuing tiredness or lack of energy, and an unexplained loss of weight or appetite.

If anyone has symptoms of lung cancer, they should visit their GP straight away and not wait for lung cancer screening.

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

The lung cancer screening machine.