Wirral Grandad urges everyone to take life-saving lung health check after cancer diagnosis

A fit and healthy grandfather has issued an urgent message to others after his routine lung health check led to a life-saving cancer diagnosis.

Paul Nelson, 72, from Birkenhead, had no symptoms when he attended a Targeted Lung Health Check offered by the NHS. A CT scan revealed advanced lung cancer that had spread to his lymph nodes and brain.

Thanks to the early diagnosis, Paul is now undergoing treatment at The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre.

Paul says the NHS check – which has found more than 500 cancers in Cheshire and Merseyside over the past few years – has given him the chance to fight the disease and without it he may have been diagnosed much later, when treatment may not have been an option.

“That first scan gave me a chance of life,” says Paul, 72, who lives with his wife Karen in Birkenhead. “I had no symptoms whatsoever and was fit and healthy, so I was devastated when they told me it was cancer.”

Paul – a keen rambler who has kept himself fit since retiring from his job on the railways seven years ago – is now having treatment at The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre. The check and follow-up scans found lung cancer that had spread to his lymph nodes and brain, for which he is having chemotherapy and immunotherapy.

Thousands of people in Cheshire and Merseyside have already been invited to have a check, with them already taking place in Liverpool, Halton, St Helens and south Sefton – and now happening in Warrington and Wirral.

They are offered to people aged 55 to 74 who have ever smoked as part of the biggest programme to improve early lung cancer diagnosis in health service history. The checks pinpoint those most at risk who are then offered a chest scan to rule out health problems or prompt more investigation or treatment.

Paul was offered a CT scan in August at a mobile unit in Birkenhead, only a few months after the rollout of the checks began in Wirral. “I’ve never had any problems with my chest but I was given the check and then offered the scan, so I thought, why not. I am so glad I went. This has now been caught early enough for treatment – if things had been left for a few more months it could have been very different.”

He has spoken with several friends and former colleagues who have put off having the check, after being offered it. “I’ve told them that they need to go,” said Paul. “Why wouldn’t you have a free check-up if it can spot something early. If this can happen to me when I was so healthy, it can happen to anyone.”

Paul’s wife, Karen, said: “If he had not had that scan in August, within a few months he could have started to feel sick because the cancer was growing rapidly. Things moved quickly after he was diagnosed and the NHS has given Paul fantastic care.”

Dr Chris Warburton, lung health check Clinical Director of Programme for Cheshire and Merseyside, said: “It is normal for there to be no signs and symptoms of lung cancer until it is advanced – which is why these lung health checks are vital.

“The checks are helping us to diagnose more people earlier, when cancer is far easier to tackle, and we wish Paul well with his treatment.

“We would like everyone who is given an appointment to attend it – but around half the people invited do not take it up. For the majority of those who attend, the scan will show that everything is normal, but for those who do have something wrong, catching it early can make a big difference.

“Lung health checks are painless, quick, convenient and free of charge, so if you are given an appointment for one, please do not ignore it.”

Paul consultant oncologist at The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre, Dr Noor Tariq, said: “The lung check screening programme is a proactive public health initiative aimed at identifying early signs of lung cancer and other respiratory conditions in high-risk individuals. 

“By offering low-dose CT scans and comprehensive assessments, the programme enhances early detection, enabling timely interventions that improve outcomes and save lives. It underscores the importance of prevention, education, and equitable access to healthcare in combating lung disease.”

For more information about the Targeted Lung Health Check programme, visit: https://www.lhch.nhs.uk/lung-health-check

For more info on The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre click here.

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