Dewsbury car park lung health checks aim to fight cancer early in a drive to save lives

Those aged 55 – 74 who smoke or have ever smoked are being invited by medical professionals to get their lung health checked for signs of cancer, as detecting the disease early means it can often be treated more successfully.

The initial check takes place over the phone and lasts around 20 minutes. If any issues are found, people will be offered a CT scan at a mobile unit located in the Sainsbury’s superstore car park on Railway Street in Dewsbury town centre.

The mobile CT scanner has previously visited Cleckheaton and Batley before arriving at its current location in Dewsbury this month.

So far around 14,000 people have been invited for a lung health check in North Kirklees and more than 3,000 have attended for CT scan, with the programme already resulting in 70 suspected lung cancers being detected.

Dr Khalid Naeem, a local GP and chair of Kirklees clinical and professional forum, said: “Lung health checks have a vital role to play in the fight against cancer. They can help find problems early, often before you notice anything is wrong, and at a stage when treatment could be simpler and more successful.

“Most lung cancers grow slowly enough for them to be found at an early stage by a lung scan – so this programme will ultimately save more lives.”

Marion Redford, programme lead for the NHS in Kirklees, said, “Even if you feel fit and well, or gave up smoking years ago, it’s important that you attend a lung health check when you’re invited.

“Lung cancer is the most common cancer in West Yorkshire and is directly related to smoking and tobacco use. There are often no signs or symptoms of lung cancer at an early stage.

“As a result, sadly around 7 in 10 cancer patients are currently being diagnosed too late to be cured.

“We’ve done everything possible to make the health checks as convenient as possible.

“The initial appointment is by telephone and people who need a CT scan will be invited to attend the mobile scanner in Dewsbury rather than having to visit a hospital.”

North Kirklees is one of 23 lung health check pilot sites which are contributing towards reaching the NHS’ long term plan ambition of catching thousands more cancer cases at an earlier stage.

The programme is supported by the West Yorkshire and Harrogate Cancer Alliance and has been funded by NHS England.

For more information, visit www.lunghealthcheckaware.co.uk