Update 30 November 2022: As of now, the mobile unit, where patients will be invited to have a lung cancer health check, will be based at ASDA Small Heath, Birmingham.

A life-saving lung cancer health check, which has already saved hundreds of lives across England, is set to launch in Birmingham this month. 

As part of NHS England’s Targeted Lung Health Check programme, residents across Washwood Heath have started to receive postal invitations to attend an in-person or virtual lung cancer health check. 

The programme is being piloted in Washwood Heath, with health checks due to begin from 26 October, before the programme is extended in 2023-24 to other wards in Birmingham, including Bordesley Green, Yardley Wood and Alum Rock.   

The health checks are targeted at those most at risk of lung cancer, with the aim to significantly improve the earlier detection of the disease.  

Invitations to attend these life-saving checks are being sent to residents of Washwood Heath aged 55-74 with a history of smoking.   

The Targeted Lung Health Check programme has been running in England since 2019, having been deployed in locations such as London and Manchester, providing thousands with the opportunity to safeguard their lung health.    

Those invited will have an appointment with a lung health nurse, either over the phone or face-to-face, and people considered to have a higher risk of lung cancer will then be offered a low-dose CT scan in a mobile truck located within their community.   

The first stop for the mobile truck will be Star City, where residents of Washwood Heath will receive a CT scan, which is far more accurate at picking up cancer than a standard X-ray.   

Over 600 people across England have already been diagnosed with lung cancer through the programme, with 77% of those diagnosed at stages one and two.   

Thanks to a targeted lung health check, Gordon Darnell, 70, of Croxteth, Liverpool, was diagnosed when his lung cancer was at stage one, the point when most treatment options remain available.  

After attending his lung health check, Gordon had keyhole surgery in January 2022 and, just eight weeks later, was well enough to fly off for a holiday in Spain. 

Gordon said: “My consultant told me that when I went for my original lung scan, I saved my own life.  

“I was never ill – not before my diagnosis, not during treatment and not now, and that’s because they picked it up so early.  

“I almost feel like a fraud speaking to people who've got cancer or had it because I didn't experience anything like they have and that’s all down to going for that lung check. 

“We’re talking an hour out of your day. If you go and there’s nothing wrong, you haven’t lost anything but if there is something wrong, you’ve got to deal with it as quickly as possible. 

“I truly believe it has saved my life.” 

More than three quarters (77%) of cancer detected in the programme have been caught at either stage 1 or 2, giving patients a much better chance of beating the illness. 

Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer death in the UK, claiming the lives of more people than breast, prostate and pancreatic cancers combined. 

NHS England hopes that these simple lung checks will change that, revolutionising long term lung cancer survival rates by detecting it at the earliest opportunity, even before symptoms appear.  

Dr Babu Naidu, a consultant thoracic surgeon at the University of Birmingham and the clinical lead for Targeted Lung Health Check programme in Birmingham and Solihull, said: “For the majority of those who attend, everything will be fine, while for those where we do find something wrong, catching it early can make all the difference.  

“Lung cancer can be difficult to detect early which is why so many people are currently diagnosed with an incurable disease. However, these checks are helping us to diagnose many more people earlier and when it is far easier to treat. 

“This is why we want everyone who is invited to take up the opportunity and make an appointment. 

“The main aim of these checks is to find cancer at the earliest opportunity before there may even be any symptoms, so just as you would go for a breast screening or send off your bowel screening kit, we now want you to have your lungs checked.” 

Dr Clara Day, Chief Medical Officer at NHS Birmingham and Solihull, said: “Bringing the Targeted Lung Health Check programme to Birmingham allows us to tackle not just lung cancer, but also the health inequalities that exist within the city.   

“Within Washwood Heath, 89% of the population live in some of the most deprived areas of the country, and lung cancer is all too often prevalent in areas of high deprivation.   

“Our Integrated Care System, which is made up of health and care organisations across Birmingham and Solihull, is committed to addressing these health inequalities, and we will support initiatives, such as the Targeted Lung Health Programme, that bring care and treatment to those who need it most.   

“These checks save lives, as proven throughout the country, and if residents receive an invite in the post, I would strongly encourage them to book an appointment.   

“If a health check with a nurse or a scan of your chest at our mobile unit means we can identity and treat lung cancer as early as possible, can you afford to ignore the invite?” 

The Targeted Lung Health Check programme also offers help and advice to quit smoking for those individuals who are ready to make the change. 

For more information about the programme, visit: https://www.birminghamsolihull.icb.nhs.uk/health-information/targeted-lung-health-check