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Lung cancer screening

Your lungs work hard for you every minute of your life. As you get older it's worth getting them checked out. 

If you’re aged between 55 and 74 and have ever smoked, you may be offered lung cancer screening. This will look to see if your lungs are in good working order and to diagnose conditions early.

Lung cancer is often diagnosed later than other cancers because it doesn’t always show symptoms in the early stages. Screening can help catch it sooner, when there is a much better chance of effective treatment.

In Lancashire and South Cumbria, lung cancer screening has been offered to eligible residents living in:

  • Blackpool
  • Blackburn with Darwen
  • East Lancashire
  • Fylde and Wyre

Current location: Preston

Starting June 2025, invitations will be sent to eligible people registered with a GP practice in Preston.

Don’t worry if you haven’t received an invite yet. Lung cancer screening is a new programme and is being rolled out gradually across Lancashire and South Cumbria over the next few years.

If you have any questions about lung cancer screening, please contact our team at lscicb.lungscreening.enquiries@nhs.net

 

FAQs
About the lung scans/CT scans

The programme is designed to offer lung screening to people with a high risk of developing lung cancer, and to identify lung cancer at an early stage when it is much more treatable.

  • To date, over 300 people have been diagnosed with lung cancer through lung cancer screening in the Lancashire area.
  • 75% of lung cancers found through a screening programme are at stage 1 or 2.
  • 98% of people who attend screening are reassured that their lungs are healthy.
  • Only 2% of people who have a lung screening CT scan will get a cancer diagnosis.

Due to the success of the programme, the Government has announced that lung cancer screening will become a national screening programme and be rolled out across the whole of England by 2030.

Lung cancer screening is a two-stage process to help assess the health of your lungs.

  1. Telephone appointment - It begins with a telephone call where a nurse will ask a series of questions to evaluate your chance of developing lung cancer.
  2. CT scan - If you are identified as someone who is at an increased risk of developing lung cancer you will be invited for a CT scan of your lungs.

If you are a current smoker, you will also be offered help and support for if you wish to quit smoking.

If you are worried about a symptom of lung cancer, please do not wait until you are invited for a lung health check. Contact your GP as soon as possible. There are usually no signs or symptoms of lung cancer in the early stages. Symptoms develop as the condition progresses.

Symptoms may include:

  • A persistent cough or change in your normal cough
  • Coughing up blood
  • Being short of breath
  • Unexplained tiredness or weight loss
  • An ache or pain when breathing or coughing
  • Appetite loss

For more information on the signs and symptoms, visit the nhs.uk website: Lung cancer - Symptoms - NHS (www.nhs.uk)

"My experience as a senior palliative and end of life nurse has emphasised the devastating effects of advanced lung cancer.

"I am passionate about the targeted lung health check service and thrilled to be directly involved in improving patient outcomes."

Harriett
Lead nurse for lung cancer screening 

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