NHS lung trucks in Bedfordshire help diagnose cancer early
A significant percentage of the Bedfordshire population are smokers or former smokers.
People in deprived areas are now more likely to be diagnosed with lung cancer at an earlier stage, thanks to the success of NHS lung trucks.
For the first time ever, new data shows more than a third of people diagnosed with lung cancer from the most deprived fifth of England were diagnosed at stage one or two in 2022 (34.5%) – up from 30% in 2019.
Lung MOTs, located in mobile trucks in supermarket carparks, launched in 2018 in areas of the country with the lowest lung cancer survival rates – and they have already made an impact on earlier diagnoses.
Residents in Luton and Central Bedfordshire were invited for a free lung health check in 2021 and 2022 respectively.
Bedfordshire has poor outcomes for lung cancer and some of the highest rates of smoking with a significant percentage of the local population labelled as smokers or former smokers.
Dr James Ramsay, Clinical Director for the Lung Health checks programme in Bedfordshire, said: “Sadly, 20% of people in the UK still cannot name one symptom of lung cancer. This lack of awareness is one of the reasons why so many people with lung cancer are diagnosed at a later stage.
“We know if lung cancer is caught early, curative treatment is possible and people can go on to live life to the fullest. The difficulty has been finding it at those early stages.”
Only those meeting the criteria will be invited to take part in the programme. Everyone who is still a smoker will receive support from local Stop Smoking services.
The Lung Health checks team began inviting people in April 2022. Residents are invited via their GP practice. The programme will last for four years.
Theresa, a grandmother of 11 and great gran of 1 from Luton, who benefited from the lung health checks programme said:
When I was invited in January 2021, I quickly made an appointment, having been a smoker, I thought it was best to get checked out.”
“After I had my lungs checked, I noticed a small lump on my breast, so when the call came to say they had found a lesion, I wasn’t surprised, but I was very scared. I had a few more tests and they confirmed cancer.”
Theresa underwent an operation to remove the lump off of her breast and 3 out of 15 lymph nodes, follow by chemotherapy. She said:
“I was impressed how quickly I was in, they said I had stage 2 or 3 cancer. I was grateful they found it early. I’m just so grateful to the team, they were all lovely.
“I say if you get the letter, don’t be scared, the team are friendly, make that call, it could save your life!”
57 year old Jacqueline from Luton, who suffers from COPD and fibromyalgia, has also received life changing cancer treatment through the programme.
She said: “I initially thought a phone conversation was a waste of time as I’d recently had a COPD check-up, but when my breathing got worse I decided to take up the offer of the appointment.
She continued: “Following a phone call, I was then referred for a CT scan at the mobile unit, and they found that I had a carcinoma on my upper right lung.”
Following treatment at Harefield Hospital a year ago to remove her upper right lung and lymph nodes, Jacqueline has made a full recovery from the surgery, and will be monitored for the next five years.
She said: “I am so lucky the Lung Health Check Programme team called me. Had they not I might not have bothered and I might not be sitting here now. If you are invited please do go along – it’s only a couple of hours of your life, but it could save it.”
As part of the biggest programme to improve earlier cancer detection in health history, the NHS has now teamed up with the Roy Castle Lung Foundation on a new campaign encouraging the hundreds of thousands of people who are invited each month to take up the potentially lifesaving scan.
The campaign will be running over the coming months across social media, through online advertising and on posters in areas where lung checks are operating.
More than 300,000 (313,387) people have already taken up the offer and the trucks have diagnosed more than 1,750 (1,779) people with lung cancer. Over three-quarters (76%) were caught at stage one or two, compared with just a third caught at early stages in 2018.
People diagnosed with lung cancer at the earliest stage are nearly 20 times more likely to survive for five years than those whose cancer is caught late.
Now at 43 sites across the country, the mobile trucks scan those most at risk from lung cancer, including current and ex-smokers, inviting them for an on-the-spot chest scan for those at the highest risk. Advice to help people stop smoking is also provided to those who attend.
Cancer survival is at an all-time high in England and the latest data shows the NHS is diagnosing more patients with cancer at an earlier stage than ever before, when it is easier to treat – over 100,000 (104,012) patients were diagnosed with cancer at stages one or two when it is easier to treat – the highest proportion on record.
National Director for Cancer, Dame Cally Palmer, said: “These findings are incredibly important – they show the power behind targeted health programmes with the NHS continuing its drive to detect cancers earlier by going into the heart of communities that may be less likely to come forward.
“While early diagnosis rates for cancer have traditionally been lower for deprived groups, thanks to the rollout of lung trucks, the NHS has turned a huge corner – and is now finding and treating those who would otherwise have been undetected.
“The NHS will not stop in its efforts to go out and find more cancers at an earlier point, when easier to treat, so if you have had an invite, please take it up, and as ever, if you are showing any signs of cancer, please come forward to your GP – getting checked could save your life”.
Health Minister Helen Whately said: “Catching lung cancer early saves lives, which is why we’re prioritising early diagnosis for those most at risk.
“These figures show how care closer to home for 300,000 people, using NHS lung trucks, has potentially saved over 1,750 lives.
“We’re laser-focused on fighting cancer on all fronts – prevention, diagnosis, and treatment, backed up with funding and research – and alongside these mobile trucks we have also opened 100 community diagnostic centres, which have delivered over 3.6 million additional tests, checks and scans, including lung checks”.
Chief Executive of Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation, Paula Chadwick, said: “It is truly heartening to see the wonderful progress being made in the early detection of lung cancer because of the targeted lung health check programme and these checks are allowing us to get ahead of lung cancer for the first time, catching the disease at the earliest opportunity, often before symptoms even start, and treating it with an aim to cure.
“So many people have already benefitted from having a lung health check but there are also a lot of people who have been invited and not taken up the opportunity, so I urge anyone who receives an invitation to have the check – even if you feel well, even if you have no symptoms, even if you’re convinced there’s nothing wrong! You have been invited for a reason and when it comes to lung cancer, it is always best to check”.
Cancer Research UK’s Chief Executive, Michelle Mitchell, said: “It’s really encouraging to see these positive results from the rollout of the NHS lung trucks programme, around 14,300 cases of lung cancer each year in England are linked with deprivation and sadly, people living in England’s most deprived areas are more likely to die from the disease than those in less deprived areas.
“Lung cancer is an area where significant progress needs to be made which will improve cancer inequalities, it’s also the most common cause of cancer death in the UK, but spotting it early – when treatment is more likely to be successful – can save lives”.
Smoking causes more than seven in ten lung cancer cases in the UK. Previous trials have shown that CT screening reduced lung cancer mortality by 26% in men and between 39% and 61% in women.
Not only do the lung trucks scan for cancer, but they have also identified thousands of people with other undiagnosed conditions including respiratory and cardiovascular disease, enabling them to access the treatment they need earlier, and helping to prevent potential hospitalisations.
Thanks to awareness campaigns and early diagnosis drives, the NHS has been seeing and treating record numbers of people for cancer, with over 2.8 million getting checked for cancer in 2022, and over 320,000 people received treatment for cancer in the same year – up on 2.35 million checks and 8,000 treatments in the same period before the pandemic.