“I might never have got the chance to hold my grandson if I hadn’t attended my lung cancer screening.” - Susan’s experience

Five years ago, Susan Greig from Leeds received a letter inviting her to have a lung health check - an offer she happily accepted but never imagined would save her life.

The scan found Susan had lung cancer, but thanks to it being found early, she is now five years cancer-free.

Since being successfully treated, Susan has experienced many important milestones. She has welcomed two grandsons into the world, watched her daughter get married, and enjoyed holidays with her husband. Her experience is one of many people in Yorkshire whose lives have been saved or extended thanks to pioneering cancer research funded by Yorkshire Cancer Research.

In 2019, Susan, then aged 61, received a letter inviting her to attend a chest CT scan on a mobile screening unit located in a supermarket car park in Seacroft, Leeds.

The invitation was part of the Yorkshire Lung Screening Trial, an innovative lung cancer screening study funded by Yorkshire Cancer Research and delivered in partnership with Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and the University of Leeds. The trial offered people at higher risk of lung cancer the chance to be screened for early signs of the disease.

For Susan, the location of the scan made all the difference. 

Little did Susan know that accepting the offer for a lung health check would be far more than a matter of convenience: it would become one of the most important decisions of her life. Soon after having the chest scan, she received a letter explaining that a nodule had been found in her lungs, and she was referred for further tests to determine whether it was cancerous.

She continued: “What worried me most was how to tell my family. My daughter was seven months pregnant, and my mum was nearly 90. I was terrified the news might upset them so much that it could affect their health.”

Days after receiving the news, Susan underwent further scans, including a PET scan at St James’s Hospital. The results showed that the nodule in her lung was likely to be cancerous, but it had not spread to other parts of her body. This meant there was a high chance it could be cured by having surgery.

Following a straightforward operation to remove the nodule, Susan’s consultant confirmed the nodule had in fact been cancerous, so the decision to surgically remove the nodule at this early stage could have saved her life.

Thanks to life-saving screening programmes including the Yorkshire Lung Screening Trial, lung cancer operations in England have increased from 4,800 to over 7,000 in the last 3 years. This is because more people are getting diagnosed with lung cancer at an earlier stage, when there are more treatment options available and surgery is more likely to be successful.

Professor Mat Callister, Consultant Respiratory Physician at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Honorary Professor of Respiratory Medicine at the University of Leeds and co-lead for the Yorkshire Lung Screening Trial, estimates that without the early detection and treatment to remove the cancerous nodule in Susan’s lung, it would have taken approximately two to four years before she started showing symptoms. By then, the cancer would very likely have developed to a later stage when there would have been fewer treatment options, and it was more likely to be incurable.

Susan said: “The thought of ‘what if’ still hits me. If the cancer hadn’t been detected, it could have grown and spread until it was too late for them to do anything about it.”

Susan is one of more than 8,800 people who were screened as part of the Yorkshire Lung Screening Trial and one of hundreds found to have early-stage lung cancer. Detecting lung cancer at an early stage is critical to survival. At stage one, around 68% of people live beyond five years, compared to just 9% of those diagnosed with stage four cancer.

The surgery to remove the nodule in Susan’s lung was successful, and she spent ten days in hospital following treatment.

But the day Susan came out of hospital became even more meaningful. It was also the day her grandson, George, was born.

“The very day I left the hospital, my daughter was in another hospital giving birth to my grandson, George. He’s six now and brings me so much joy. Two years ago, I welcomed another beautiful grandson too. I might never have got the chance to hold him if I hadn’t attended my lung cancer screening.”

Now five years cancer-free - and medically classed as cured - Susan continues to enjoy every moment. One moment she is particularly looking forward to is taking George to Norway next year.

“I’ve had so many moments I might never have had — the birthdays of my three grandchildren, holidays with family, and watching my daughter walk down the aisle. I’m so excited to be taking George to Norway, which may never have happened without that lung scan. Because of research funded by Yorkshire Cancer Research, I’m still here to make these memories and I’ll forever be grateful.”

Thanks to Susan and thousands of others who took part, the Yorkshire Lung Screening Trial provided vital data to demonstrate to the government that community-based lung cancer screening works and saves lives through the early detection of lung cancer.  

The trial contributed to the government’s landmark decision to roll out a national lung screening programme by 2030. This means 600,000 people in Yorkshire could be offered a life-saving lung health check over the next five years, resulting in more people in the region living longer, healthier, cancer-free lives.

Susan concluded: “The knock-on effect of the trial is truly incredible. I’m so pleased my participation has played a role in proving screening like this works - and that more people will be able to spend more time with their family and friends, just like I’ve been able to.”