Cornwall lung screening pilot aims to diagnose cancer sooner

The scans will be performed in a mobile unit

A lung screening pilot has started across Cornwall aimed at diagnosing lung cancer sooner.

It is aimed at current and former smokers in the county aged between 55 and 75.

People in that group will be invited for an appointment and offered a CT scan in a mobile unit.

Health officials said the initiative would prolong lives by detecting lung cancer earlier.

'Really exciting'

The NHS says lung cancer is one of the most common and serious types of cancer, with about 47,000 people diagnosed with the condition every year in the UK.

Kate Shields, from the Cornwall Integrated Care Board, said: "If we use units like this we know from research we pick up 80% of cancers at stage one and two, so that means we can have curative treatment, we can get rid of the cancer and people go on to have normal life expectancy, so it's really, really exciting."

She said that currently only 20 to 25% of lung cancer patients are diagnosed at the earlier stages.

The project is funded by NHS England.

The NHS says there are usually no signs or symptoms in the early stages of lung cancer, but many people with the condition eventually develop symptoms including:

• A persistent cough

• Coughing up blood

• Persistent breathlessness

• Unexplained tiredness and weight loss

• An ache or pain when breathing or coughing

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