Targeted lung checks proving good for patients

MORE cancer is being spotted sooner in a screening programme which has “flipped” statistics for patients’ treatment, NHS bosses were told.

- By GARETH LIGHTFOOT Local democracy reporter

Patients on Teesside have been invited for tests in a lung health check programme to pick up warning signs. This has reversed trends for people receiving “curative” treatment to overcome cancer rather than palliative treatment to improve quality of life and manage symptoms.

Samuel Peate, chief operating officer for the South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: “If you look at the impact of that programme, we've effectively moved from the patients going through the lung pathway where 80% of patients would have ended up with a palliative diagnosis and 20% or thereabouts with a curative intervention and treatment.