Free lung cancer screening offered for smokers

Some patients will be offered a low-dose CT scan

More than 7,000 people in Bridlington are being offered free lung cancer screenings.

Past and current smokers aged between 55 and 74 will be asked to arrange a telephone assessment with a specialist respiratory nurse.

They then may be invited for a low-dose CT scan on board a high-tech mobile unit.

It is the latest round of screenings in East Yorkshire which began in Withernsea in 2023.

Dr Stuart Baugh, programme director for the NHS Lung Cancer Screening programme in Humber and North Yorkshire, said: "The Lung Cancer Screening programme is a vital step towards better outcomes for people at highest risk of respiratory diseases.

"Not only does the programme help to provide most people with reassurance that their lungs are currently healthy, it also helps to detect any lung conditions early and supports people to stop smoking if they wish to do so."

The screening service was first launched in Hull in 2020 and has visited the Goole and Howden area and East Riding villages, including Cottingham.

Jenny Piper, associate medical director for cancer at York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said the screening programme "offers real hope and reassurance".

"Lung cancer screening can save lives," she said.

"By detecting cancer at an earlier stage, often before symptoms appear, we can offer treatment sooner, when it's more likely to be successful."

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