Lung Cancer Screening Programme Manager, East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust

Lung cancer is a treatable cancer — but only when it is caught in time. For too long, too many people across East Kent received their diagnosis when the disease had already reached an advanced stage, when treatment options were limited and outcomes were significantly poorer. Sarah Ryan is determined to change that.

As Lung Cancer Screening Programme Manager at East Kent Hospitals, Sarah leads a programme that has already transformed the outlook for thousands of people across the region. Launched in November 2022, the programme invites people at higher risk of developing lung cancer for a lung health check — beginning with a telephone risk assessment and, for those who are classified as high risk, a low-dose CT scan.

The numbers tell a compelling story: more than 40,000 people invited, more than 11,200 CT scans completed, and 101 lung cancers diagnosed — alongside a range of other conditions including emphysema and heart disease, many of which would otherwise have gone undetected.

Crucially, these are diagnoses made earlier, when intervention is most effective and the chance of a cure is greatest.

“Too often lung cancer is diagnosed at an advanced stage when treatment options are limited and outcomes are poorer,” she says. “The screening programme also helps to reduce health inequalities by working with partnership organisations, identifying high-risk individuals and offering early screening that leads to earlier diagnosis and treatment when it is most effective.”

The team’s commitment to innovative, prevention-focused care has been recognised with a Kent and Medway Healthwatch Award for Innovative Approaches to Prevention — a fitting tribute to a programme that is saving lives by acting before illness takes hold.

“Initiatives such as this show how proactive healthcare can save lives, improve quality of life and support a healthier population,” Sarah adds. “By investing in prevention, we can help to tackle serious disease and create a more sustainable healthcare system for the future.”

Sarah’s work is a powerful embodiment of the NHS 10 Year Health Plan’s shift from sickness to prevention — and proof that, in East Kent, the future of the NHS is already here.