Lung health checks given to thousands of smokers and ex-smokers in Somerset, Wiltshire, Avon and Gloucestershire, are saving lives.

The Targeted Lung Health Check Programme gives people the chance of having lung cancer detected and treated earlier.

Today (Tuesday 1 August) on World Lung Cancer Day, figures show that  3,758 people have attended a scan in less than a year, from which 17 lung cancers were detected –  82% have been at early stage.

The Somerset, Wiltshire, Avon and Gloucestershire (SWAG) Cancer Alliance, launched the programme in Bath as part of a national pilot last August inviting anyone who has ever smoked between the ages of 55 and 74 years.

The scans aim to pick up small lung tumours before they start to cause symptoms as lung cancers detected at an early stage can be treated and cured.

Most tumours diagnosed within the Targeted Lung Health Check Programme will be surgically removed or treated with radiotherapy.

David Rolfe, from Bath, says years or uncertainty and the possibility of a much tougher cancer battle have been stopped in their tracks, thanks to the invitation to have a scan as part of the programme.

David, 69, who had already overcome Hodgkin lymphoma 35 years ago, went for a lung check-up at a mobile unit at St Martin’s Hospital last October.

He said: “I was invited for the scan through my GP because I was a smoker, albeit three decades ago, and I had recently had pneumonia. I turned up to this big lorry parked in the hospital car park, the team were excellent.  You take of your shirt off, lie under a machine and the scan doesn’t last very long at all and you think ‘well that’s another thing to tick off the list’”.

However, a week later his life changed when he received a call from the hospital asking him to come in for a biopsy.

The biopsy could not detect for certain if it was cancerous, and David was given the option to leave it and see what happened or to have it removed.

“I chose to have it cut out because I didn’t want to play a waiting game. If it hadn’t been for the Targeted Lung Health Check I really don’t know what would have happened. In my mind, the fact that it was identified so early means it was dealt with before the tumour had chance to grow bigger and could have been more difficult to deal with at a later stage.”

David had surgery to remove the tumour in January, and as a result can confidently say he is cancer free, giving himself, his wife, three children and grandchildren peace of mind.

He added: “I’m over the moon with the experience I had through the Targeted Lung Health Check. The scan detected something was wrong quickly and the surgery at the Bristol Royal Infirmary was painless.”

He continues to go to the hospital for three monthly check-ups.

“I will tell anyone who is invited for a lung health check to go along but especially men. We make out we’re Teflon coated but I think mostly it’s because we’re scared and so tend to hide our head in the sand – it’s the worst thing to do because you’re not giving yourself a chance.

I truly believe having this option saved my life and could save others too.”

Anna Bibby, lead for the SWAG Cancer Alliance and consultant respiratory physician at North Bristol NHS Trust, said: “To date we have sent Targeted Lung Health Check invitations to 14,721 people in Somerset, Wiltshire, Avon and Gloucestershire.”

“David’s experience is exactly why we’d call on people to come forward for their lung health check when invited. The programme also offers smoking cessation support through the Bath and Somerset Smoking Cessation Service. As soon as you quit it has an impact on your health so the programme is not just detecting and treating cancers earlier, which gives people better outcomes, but potentially stopping someone developing lung cancer in the future.

With support from the Bath and Somerset Smoking Cessation Service 58 smokers who attended the Targeted Lung Health Check Programme, have successfully quit four weeks into the course.

Anna added: “Since we launched in Bath last year, the mobile unit has stopped at Bridgewater and Portland, and the mobile unit and the team have now moved to Patchway.

“We hope to invite many more people who are eligible soon but if you have already received your invite please don’t hold back and attend.

“Most people who do attend find the screening experience is straightforward, the staff are kind and helpful, and most people are ultimately reassured there is nothing to be worried about. If we do find something, the earlier we detect and treat it the better it is for the person.”