THE NHS in the North West is encouraging people with symptoms such as a long-standing persistent cough, to contact their GP practice for potentially lifesaving checks in its latest lung cancer awareness campaign.

The launch of the latest Help Us Help You campaign comes after figures suggest people at risk of lung cancer may not be coming forward for care despite it being the biggest cause of cancer deaths in England.

While most other cancer referrals quickly returned to pre-pandemic levels after the first wave of COVID-19, lung cancer referrals only returned to pre-pandemic levels in May 2022.

Dr Michael Gregory, Medical Director of the NHS in the North West said: “The rate of lung cancer in the North West is higher than anywhere else in England, and although we have seen record numbers of people coming forward for tests and checks, thanks to our campaigns and early diagnosis initiatives, the referrals for lung cancer haven’t returned to the levels we would like.

“Early diagnosis saves countless lives every year, so it is important that should you have any symptoms of lung cancer, including a continuous cough or breathlessness, to come forward as soon as possible and speak to the staff at your general practice.

“It’s probably nothing to worry about, but if it is cancer, diagnosing it early could save your life.”  

Around 8,496 cases of lung cancer are diagnosed in the North West every year. Lung cancer is one of the most serious type of cancers and last year was the fifth biggest cause of death in England accounting for 26,410 deaths.

Thanks to national awareness campaigns and early diagnosis initiatives, one in every four GP referrals are now for suspected cancer –  with the NHS seeing record numbers of people getting checked for cancer over the last year with more than 5.3 million people referred between June 2021 and May 2022, and over 670,000 since March 2020 starting treatment.

The latest campaign will target the groups of people most at risk including over 60s, as well as people who are often more reluctant to visit their GP practice, which is critical to getting an early diagnosis.