June 10, 2025 • 19 mins
When Susan took up an invite for a lung health check, she didn’t expect to be told she had early-stage cancer. Now cancer-free, she shares her story alongside Professor Matt Callister and Suzanne Rogerson, as they explain how a mobile screening unit in Leeds is finding hidden cancers—and going national.
This podcast was recorded and produced by Under the Mast– creative audio productions and was presented by Caroline Verdon
*
Professor Mat Callister is a Consultant Respiratory Physician at Leeds Teaching Hospitals and Honorary Professor of Respiratory Medicine at the University of Leeds. His research interest is in the early diagnosis of lung cancer, both through symptomatic detection and screening. He is co-lead for the Yorkshire Lung Screening Trial (YLST) and the Yorkshire Enhanced Stop Smoking Study (YESS), both funded by Yorkshire Cancer Research.
Suzanne Rogerson is Lead Nurse for Research and Innovation at Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust. She has experience of working in medical device, drug, gene-therapy and screening research, including commercial, non-commercial and charity funded trials. She has management responsibility for the Yorkshire Cancer research funded Yorkshire Lung Screening Trial and Yorkshire Enhanced Stop Smoking Study teams.
Articles about their work
Pioneering Leeds cancer intiative helps drive early cancer diagnosis
Government announces national rollout of Leeds lung cancer screening | University of Leeds
Chancellor of the Exchequer visits the Leeds Lung Health Check
*
Views and experiences shared in this podcast belong to the individuals and do not constitute medical advice. For medical advice please contact your pharmacist, GP or dial 111. In an emergency please dial 999.
This podcast was recorded and produced by Under the Mast– creative audio productions and was presented by Caroline Verdon
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:07):
Medical breakthroughs,the research journey.
Hello and welcome.
I'm your host, Caroline Burden,and you are about to join me on
a journey into the fascinatingworld of medical breakthroughs,
but not just any breakthroughs.
We are diving into thepersonal stories, the setbacks.
(00:30):
That you will not believe.
This moment behind the cutting edgeresearch happening right here at
Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.
Coming up in this episode,
it's Susan's experience of not knowing shehad a cancer, finding it early, finding
two, in fact, taking them out, and thenshe's over five years now since our
(00:50):
operation, we would class that as a cure.
That is exactly why wedo the screening program.
The day I came out ofhospital, my grandson was born.
I've seen him get to nearly 6-year-oldnow, and another little grandson, so
maybe wouldn't have seen the second one.
When Susan took up an invite for a lunghealth check, she didn't expect to be
(01:10):
told that she had early stage cancer.
Now, cancer free.
She shares her story alongside ProfessorMatt McAllister and Suzanne Rogerson
as they explain how a mobile screeningunit in Leeds is finding hidden cancers,
saving lives, and going national.
The.
(01:33):
Screening for lung cancer using,uh, a test called low-dose ct.
So basically screening quite broadlyinvolves testing people, a defined
population of people and regular intervalsusing a test, the screening test.
And you do that irrespectivewhether they have symptoms or not.
So in most of the rest ofhealthcare, people have.
(01:58):
Uh, healthcare professionals wherescreening is flipped the other way
around and people get invited, whetheror not they have symptoms according
to a kind of standard protocol.
So we have screening programsfor three cancers already.
Breast cancer, bowelcancer, and cervical cancer.
Um, there was some data thatcame out from the US in 2011.
(02:22):
Saves lives, stops peopledying of cancer, which is the
standard which we need to get to.
So the US started screening in 2013.
Screening in the UK is won by theUK National Screening Committee.
They looked at screening in 2018and they decided there wasn't
menting evidence to have a national.
(02:49):
Of delivering screeningin the would people turn?
Cost effective.
So the Yorkshire screening trial waskind of born into that whole context
at the time where we didn't have anational screening program where there
was a kind of need to show that it wouldwork in the real world NHS to get some
data on how many people would turn up.
(03:10):
To contribute to some calculationsabout whether it'll be value for money.
So that was, that wasthe reason for the trial.
So what we did was we invited patientsto, uh, give us a call for a telephone
risk assessment to see if theywere at high risk of lung cancer.
So the first contact thatSusan got from us was a letter
inviting them, her to ring us.
So she rang the team and we did ashort questionnaire over the phone.
(03:33):
Determined that she was athigher risk of lung cancer.
And then we invited her for a, uh, lunghealth check, including a chest CT scan.
So we operated in a mobile unit, so wewere parked in community locations that
were convenient for patients to come to.
So generally in.
Local supermarket, car park or local park.
(03:53):
Um, patients could pretty much choosewhat day and time they wanted to come.
We screened six days a week, startedearly and finished late so that
people who were working or hadresponsibilities could still attend.
Um, and then patients came, um, took partin the study, answered lots of questions
about general health and lung health.
Susan May remember.
(04:16):
When you received that letter throughthe post, inviting you to have these
conversations and and be part ofthis trial, what were your thoughts?
Obviously I was having regularmammograms and cervical smears, so
I thought, well, what's to lose?
Have nothing to lose,but possibly plenty to
gain.
And how were you feelingin yourself at that point?
(04:38):
You weren't necessarily feelingunwell or thinking, oh, there's
a problem here that I need to.
So no idea whatsoever that, that there no.
Could be anything wrong.
So you went and had mm-hmm.
This assessment over the phone, and thenyou went and you had the screening itself.
What was, what was that like?
Just wanted
to get under the duvet and stay there.
(05:00):
When I got results, obviouslyI was really, really scared to
know that I did have cancer.
My granddad died of cancer.
My stepfather died of cancer.
So, you know, the thought was scary.
And like I say, I justwanted to hide away,
(05:22):
but the fact that we'dfound it, it would just,
oh.
When you were told and you received theinformation that actually you, you did
have cancer, what, what happened next?
I was in a bit of a state actually.
(05:43):
What worried me, my daughter atthe time was seven months pregnant.
I mean, mom was nearly90 at the time and it.
I didn't want her going into earlylabor or anything, and I didn't want my
mom having a heart attack at the news.
(06:05):
You know, I was worrying abouttelling them, but in the end, it
was my son that took, it worked.
It was a case of, well, I've been told nowthat it should be curable, so I've got it,
but don't worry, I won't have it for long.
(06:26):
So from a clinician's perspective,what happens once you have had
that scan and then, um, actuallybeen able to diagnose it?
Well, what commonly happens on ascan is we, we see something in
the lung, normally quite small.
Um, and normally just in the lung,that's the, the most common presentation.
(06:47):
On the screening scan, the, the, thethings in the lung are called nodules.
These are small, usually roundthings, or usually it's spherical.
In fact, little.
In the lung.
Some of these are benign,perhaps benign scars from an old
infection, but some are cancer.
And so I, I suppose our job in the,in the clinical service is to work out
(07:09):
which of these nodules are concerningand which are not concerning.
And there are a numberof tests that we can do.
Susan mentioned the radioactiveone that's called a pet.
Cts, that's where we give a d labeled in.
The reason we use sugar is becausecancer cells use a lot of sugar, so
they take up this D, the light up, thecommon test we do that allows us to look.
(07:36):
It also allows us to lookelsewhere in the body.
We know that.
Lung cancer has a tendency to spread,often spreads quite early, so we need
to make sure there's no evidence ofcancer anywhere else and and season scan
showed that the nodule lit up, didn'tshow anything anywhere else, and that's
why he was considered for surgery.
The other thing we often do isa biopsy before the operation
(07:58):
to to know for certain that.
Um, the, the issue with biopsies thoughis that there, if you think about the
lung, there's parts of the lung thatare next to the edge of the lung, if you
like, and then, uh, there were bits ofthe lung that are much less accessible.
They were right in the middle.
And, uh, in your case, Susan, youdidn't have a biopsy before the
operation, I think, and that wasbecause it was quite hard to get at.
(08:22):
So there, there are some situationswhere we're just so concerned by
the picture, by what, what thescan is showing that we think well.
We think this needs tocome out in that situation.
There's always a bit ofuncertainty when it comes out.
Was it, is it really a cancer at all?
So you do, you're going a littlebit on kind of calculated decision,
(08:42):
but there is still that uncertainty.
Um, you know, when it comes out.
Will this have been a,an unnecessary operation?
Would, would, would it beenbetter leaving this alone?
So, so
firstly in our meetings.
Appearance on the scan that wethought this, that, that this
(09:04):
should come out, whatever.
And, uh, Susan met one of oursurgeons, uh, had a chat through what
was involved and then, you know, didvery well following the operation.
And the, the, when, when it came outat the end, it did confirm that it was.
(09:24):
Wasn't it Susan?
It was your, your operationI think was 2019, wasn't it?
It was
July.
I came home on the 21st.
Yeah.
And on the 23rd of August, I was on my waydown to Southampton to get go on a cruise.
So.
That's amazing.
(09:46):
And so what was the timescale from,you know, going to have that initial
telephone conversation, uh, to thenbeing told actually that you've had
the surgery, you are now cancer free.
What sort of timescale are we looking at?
I think
the first scan was round aboutApril, April, may, June, July,
(10:07):
three months, and I was in hospital.
And then I had the three orfour outpatients appointments
and then I was discharged.
That's so quick.
And what's the likelihood that if this,this screening program wasn't there at
the time, when would Susan be likelyto have started having problems and
(10:34):
noticing that there was something wrong?
I mean, that's a very good question andit's, it's hard to predict that with
any certainty in any individual patientbecause you just dunno, you know, you
dunno what would've happened otherwise.
But we think that the, thetechnical term for what you've
just described, uh, Caroline isthe time, that's what it's called.
And that's the time that thecancer would've taken to present
(10:56):
if, if it was just left alone.
And it varies between patients,but an average might be around
four years, if not treated.
The, these cancers will grow.
Um, and we know that many of themwill then spread to different parts
of the body without the patientknowing they're there at all.
And then, you know, unfortunatelyabout half or previously I would say.
(11:23):
Lung cancer in the UK will presentwith what we call metastatic disease.
So that's when the cancer is spreadto different parts of the body and,
and is incurable at that point.
So, so that, that is the, thekind of normal, the most common
way for lung cancer to present.
What we've seen now innational figures is the.
(11:45):
Presenting with early stage lungcancer across the whole of England
now is rising kind of year on year.
It's Susan's experience, I guess,of not knowing she had a cancer,
finding it early, finding twoin fact, uh, taking them out.
And then, you know, she's overfive years now since her operation.
We would class that as a cure.
That is exactly why wedo the screening program.
(12:07):
That's what we're hoping toachieve, uh, with the screening
program and some national datathat's come out very recently.
In fact, looking at the stage of, uh,lung cancers presenting across England
is, is rising and rising all the time.
The, uh, average length of timethat people survive after a
cancer diagnosis is rising andthe number operations hugely in.
(12:37):
Lung cancer across England andthat's, that's an enormous rise in
quite a short period of time and avery large part of that will be due
to the Sweden program for for sure.
I imagine hearing that thelikely outcome for you.
If you had not had this screening testwould be that you would not be here today.
(13:00):
That must be quite a, yeah, yeah.
Quite a thing to get your head around.
Yes, definitely.
I mean, the day I came out of hospital,my grandson was born and I just wanted
to get home because the followingday was my husband's birthday, and
I mean, I've seen him get to nearly6-year-old now, and another one.
(13:24):
Another little grandsons, uh, you know, Imaybe wouldn't have seen the second one.
Suzanne, we can see here, you know, justone example of the huge difference that
these types of research projects have.
Um, it must have been anincredible project to work on.
(13:47):
It's been amazing.
I, I think it's important to mentionthat, uh, the projects that we ran
was funded by Ox Cancer Research,so they funded the entire project.
Um, and you know, it's so, it'samazing to hear stories such as
Susan's, and we have, you know.
A few hundred of these stories nowof patients who have gone on to
live longer lives, live healthierlives, see, see things happen that
(14:11):
they may not have done if theyhadn't come for the screening test.
I think the other thing that YorkCancer's research has, has funded and
that we've been looking at is, uh,trying to help those people who come
screening who are still smoking, uh.
(14:32):
And that's obviously the mainrisk factor for lung cancer.
But a third of people roughly are stillsmoking when they come for screening.
And we have separate, a separateresearch project, um, built into the
screening trial, looking at how bestto help those people, uh, who are still
smoking, how, how best to help them quit.
(15:02):
You know, maybe opportunities missed been.
By stopping, they kind ofreduce their chance of getting
lung cancer in the future.
But also they, uh, there's all mannerof other health benefits of stopping,
(15:23):
which everyone's well aware of.
Um, and so that's that as, as youknow, finding early stage lung
cancers and, and being able to.
Offer treatment to curethem has been brilliant.
Uh, but equally there's beenabout 800 people, um, in the group
invited for screenings who we'vebeen able to help stop smoking.
(15:43):
Uh, and that will have huge BenHealth benefits for them as well.
So we really see the two ofthese going hand in hand.
Um, you know, the scans to detectthe early stage disease and
then the help where it's wantedto, to allow people to stop.
Kind of habit that they'vehad for a lifetime.
Yeah.
So, um, we, we worked alongside a teamfrom University of Nottingham, led by
(16:05):
Rachel Murray, uh, who ran the stopsmoking service that we did alongside
our, our lung cancer screening.
Uh, and they're setting up a study,uh, across several sites eventually,
including leads that's gonna belooking at different ways of.
(16:35):
Yeah, absolutely.
Yeah.
I think another thing to mention, um,as well is only about three quarters
of the people that we invited forscreening actually took up the offer
to do the telephone risk assessment.
Um, and we know that the people thatdidn't looking at records, the more
likely to be smokers and probablyat higher risk of lung cancer.
And a challenge for us as we moveforward to the national program
(16:57):
is getting more people screening.
Helping navigate peopleinto screening in the.
I guess there must still be that, whichis in, you know, in part completely
(17:20):
understandable, that element of, oh, Idon't wanna find out that I've got cancer.
Because as you said, Susan, finding outyou just wanted to take to your bed.
Yeah.
And I can completely understandwhy, you know, your head would,
would, would do that to you.
And, and well, that'swhere you want to be.
Nobody wants to, to find out that, that.
(17:41):
Outcome and operation and the restof your life to look forward to.
Yeah.
Is incredible.
What's the result then,of this research project?
What does this.
So we've, we've shown that, uh, lungcancer screening is deliverable in
the way that we've done it over thestudy in these mobile units, we've
(18:02):
shown that there's value for money.
We've shown that it saves lives.
So the data that we collected, someof that was used by the National
Screening Committee, uh, to announcethat there should be a national
screening program in the uk.
And that is our intention nextyear in Leeds, that we start a
lung cancer screening program inLeeds and we will save more lives.
(18:22):
Susan, to be a part of that, tohave been one of those people who
saw the letter and to actually say,yeah, do you know what I'll, I'll.
Not just for you, but for other peoplethat will now be able to benefit.
Yeah,
you'll help save tens of thousandsof lives because you turning up for
screening and doing what you did hasgiven us the data that we've got shown
(18:46):
that lung cancer screening works.
So you are giving back everytime somebody's cancers found.
It's because somebody likeyou's turned up for screening.
So thank you.
Absolutely.
Yeah.
How does that make you feel,Susan, to hear that you've been
such an instrumental part in.
Saving.
Oh, wonder
Woman.
No, you're, I owe you all my life
(19:10):
and you can find out more aboutthe treatments in our show notes.
Coming up on our next episode,
we have become increasingly aware.
That baby's health doesn'tstart at the time of birth.
It's been going on for several monthsbefore that in their mom's womb.
And the things that can happen duringpregnancy have a profound impact
(19:34):
on the baby, not just at birth, butthroughout the early and later lives.
And you can hear more from Mr.Nigel Simpson in our next episode.
That looks into research during pregnancyand on babies medical breakthroughs.
The research journey is anunder the mask audio production.
I.
Medical breakthroughs,the research journey.
Hello and welcome.
I'm your host, Caroline Burden,and you are about to join me on
a journey into the fascinatingworld of medical breakthroughs,
but not just any breakthroughs.
We are diving into thepersonal stories, the setbacks.
(00:30):
That you will not believe.
This moment behind the cutting edgeresearch happening right here at
Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.
Coming up in this episode,
it's Susan's experience of not knowing shehad a cancer, finding it early, finding
two, in fact, taking them out, and thenshe's over five years now since our
(00:50):
operation, we would class that as a cure.
That is exactly why wedo the screening program.
The day I came out ofhospital, my grandson was born.
I've seen him get to nearly 6-year-oldnow, and another little grandson, so
maybe wouldn't have seen the second one.
When Susan took up an invite for a lunghealth check, she didn't expect to be
(01:10):
told that she had early stage cancer.
Now, cancer free.
She shares her story alongside ProfessorMatt McAllister and Suzanne Rogerson
as they explain how a mobile screeningunit in Leeds is finding hidden cancers,
saving lives, and going national.
The.
(01:33):
Screening for lung cancer using,uh, a test called low-dose ct.
So basically screening quite broadlyinvolves testing people, a defined
population of people and regular intervalsusing a test, the screening test.
And you do that irrespectivewhether they have symptoms or not.
So in most of the rest ofhealthcare, people have.
(01:58):
Uh, healthcare professionals wherescreening is flipped the other way
around and people get invited, whetheror not they have symptoms according
to a kind of standard protocol.
So we have screening programsfor three cancers already.
Breast cancer, bowelcancer, and cervical cancer.
Um, there was some data thatcame out from the US in 2011.
(02:22):
Saves lives, stops peopledying of cancer, which is the
standard which we need to get to.
So the US started screening in 2013.
Screening in the UK is won by theUK National Screening Committee.
They looked at screening in 2018and they decided there wasn't
menting evidence to have a national.
(02:49):
Of delivering screeningin the would people turn?
Cost effective.
So the Yorkshire screening trial waskind of born into that whole context
at the time where we didn't have anational screening program where there
was a kind of need to show that it wouldwork in the real world NHS to get some
data on how many people would turn up.
(03:10):
To contribute to some calculationsabout whether it'll be value for money.
So that was, that wasthe reason for the trial.
So what we did was we invited patientsto, uh, give us a call for a telephone
risk assessment to see if theywere at high risk of lung cancer.
So the first contact thatSusan got from us was a letter
inviting them, her to ring us.
So she rang the team and we did ashort questionnaire over the phone.
(03:33):
Determined that she was athigher risk of lung cancer.
And then we invited her for a, uh, lunghealth check, including a chest CT scan.
So we operated in a mobile unit, so wewere parked in community locations that
were convenient for patients to come to.
So generally in.
Local supermarket, car park or local park.
(03:53):
Um, patients could pretty much choosewhat day and time they wanted to come.
We screened six days a week, startedearly and finished late so that
people who were working or hadresponsibilities could still attend.
Um, and then patients came, um, took partin the study, answered lots of questions
about general health and lung health.
Susan May remember.
(04:16):
When you received that letter throughthe post, inviting you to have these
conversations and and be part ofthis trial, what were your thoughts?
Obviously I was having regularmammograms and cervical smears, so
I thought, well, what's to lose?
Have nothing to lose,but possibly plenty to
gain.
And how were you feelingin yourself at that point?
(04:38):
You weren't necessarily feelingunwell or thinking, oh, there's
a problem here that I need to.
So no idea whatsoever that, that there no.
Could be anything wrong.
So you went and had mm-hmm.
This assessment over the phone, and thenyou went and you had the screening itself.
What was, what was that like?
Just wanted
to get under the duvet and stay there.
(05:00):
When I got results, obviouslyI was really, really scared to
know that I did have cancer.
My granddad died of cancer.
My stepfather died of cancer.
So, you know, the thought was scary.
And like I say, I justwanted to hide away,
(05:22):
but the fact that we'dfound it, it would just,
oh.
When you were told and you received theinformation that actually you, you did
have cancer, what, what happened next?
I was in a bit of a state actually.
(05:43):
What worried me, my daughter atthe time was seven months pregnant.
I mean, mom was nearly90 at the time and it.
I didn't want her going into earlylabor or anything, and I didn't want my
mom having a heart attack at the news.
(06:05):
You know, I was worrying abouttelling them, but in the end, it
was my son that took, it worked.
It was a case of, well, I've been told nowthat it should be curable, so I've got it,
but don't worry, I won't have it for long.
(06:26):
So from a clinician's perspective,what happens once you have had
that scan and then, um, actuallybeen able to diagnose it?
Well, what commonly happens on ascan is we, we see something in
the lung, normally quite small.
Um, and normally just in the lung,that's the, the most common presentation.
(06:47):
On the screening scan, the, the, thethings in the lung are called nodules.
These are small, usually roundthings, or usually it's spherical.
In fact, little.
In the lung.
Some of these are benign,perhaps benign scars from an old
infection, but some are cancer.
And so I, I suppose our job in the,in the clinical service is to work out
(07:09):
which of these nodules are concerningand which are not concerning.
And there are a numberof tests that we can do.
Susan mentioned the radioactiveone that's called a pet.
Cts, that's where we give a d labeled in.
The reason we use sugar is becausecancer cells use a lot of sugar, so
they take up this D, the light up, thecommon test we do that allows us to look.
(07:36):
It also allows us to lookelsewhere in the body.
We know that.
Lung cancer has a tendency to spread,often spreads quite early, so we need
to make sure there's no evidence ofcancer anywhere else and and season scan
showed that the nodule lit up, didn'tshow anything anywhere else, and that's
why he was considered for surgery.
The other thing we often do isa biopsy before the operation
(07:58):
to to know for certain that.
Um, the, the issue with biopsies thoughis that there, if you think about the
lung, there's parts of the lung thatare next to the edge of the lung, if you
like, and then, uh, there were bits ofthe lung that are much less accessible.
They were right in the middle.
And, uh, in your case, Susan, youdidn't have a biopsy before the
operation, I think, and that wasbecause it was quite hard to get at.
(08:22):
So there, there are some situationswhere we're just so concerned by
the picture, by what, what thescan is showing that we think well.
We think this needs tocome out in that situation.
There's always a bit ofuncertainty when it comes out.
Was it, is it really a cancer at all?
So you do, you're going a littlebit on kind of calculated decision,
(08:42):
but there is still that uncertainty.
Um, you know, when it comes out.
Will this have been a,an unnecessary operation?
Would, would, would it beenbetter leaving this alone?
So, so
firstly in our meetings.
Appearance on the scan that wethought this, that, that this
(09:04):
should come out, whatever.
And, uh, Susan met one of oursurgeons, uh, had a chat through what
was involved and then, you know, didvery well following the operation.
And the, the, when, when it came outat the end, it did confirm that it was.
(09:24):
Wasn't it Susan?
It was your, your operationI think was 2019, wasn't it?
It was
July.
I came home on the 21st.
Yeah.
And on the 23rd of August, I was on my waydown to Southampton to get go on a cruise.
So.
That's amazing.
(09:46):
And so what was the timescale from,you know, going to have that initial
telephone conversation, uh, to thenbeing told actually that you've had
the surgery, you are now cancer free.
What sort of timescale are we looking at?
I think
the first scan was round aboutApril, April, may, June, July,
(10:07):
three months, and I was in hospital.
And then I had the three orfour outpatients appointments
and then I was discharged.
That's so quick.
And what's the likelihood that if this,this screening program wasn't there at
the time, when would Susan be likelyto have started having problems and
(10:34):
noticing that there was something wrong?
I mean, that's a very good question andit's, it's hard to predict that with
any certainty in any individual patientbecause you just dunno, you know, you
dunno what would've happened otherwise.
But we think that the, thetechnical term for what you've
just described, uh, Caroline isthe time, that's what it's called.
And that's the time that thecancer would've taken to present
(10:56):
if, if it was just left alone.
And it varies between patients,but an average might be around
four years, if not treated.
The, these cancers will grow.
Um, and we know that many of themwill then spread to different parts
of the body without the patientknowing they're there at all.
And then, you know, unfortunatelyabout half or previously I would say.
(11:23):
Lung cancer in the UK will presentwith what we call metastatic disease.
So that's when the cancer is spreadto different parts of the body and,
and is incurable at that point.
So, so that, that is the, thekind of normal, the most common
way for lung cancer to present.
What we've seen now innational figures is the.
(11:45):
Presenting with early stage lungcancer across the whole of England
now is rising kind of year on year.
It's Susan's experience, I guess,of not knowing she had a cancer,
finding it early, finding twoin fact, uh, taking them out.
And then, you know, she's overfive years now since her operation.
We would class that as a cure.
That is exactly why wedo the screening program.
(12:07):
That's what we're hoping toachieve, uh, with the screening
program and some national datathat's come out very recently.
In fact, looking at the stage of, uh,lung cancers presenting across England
is, is rising and rising all the time.
The, uh, average length of timethat people survive after a
cancer diagnosis is rising andthe number operations hugely in.
(12:37):
Lung cancer across England andthat's, that's an enormous rise in
quite a short period of time and avery large part of that will be due
to the Sweden program for for sure.
I imagine hearing that thelikely outcome for you.
If you had not had this screening testwould be that you would not be here today.
(13:00):
That must be quite a, yeah, yeah.
Quite a thing to get your head around.
Yes, definitely.
I mean, the day I came out of hospital,my grandson was born and I just wanted
to get home because the followingday was my husband's birthday, and
I mean, I've seen him get to nearly6-year-old now, and another one.
(13:24):
Another little grandsons, uh, you know, Imaybe wouldn't have seen the second one.
Suzanne, we can see here, you know, justone example of the huge difference that
these types of research projects have.
Um, it must have been anincredible project to work on.
(13:47):
It's been amazing.
I, I think it's important to mentionthat, uh, the projects that we ran
was funded by Ox Cancer Research,so they funded the entire project.
Um, and you know, it's so, it'samazing to hear stories such as
Susan's, and we have, you know.
A few hundred of these stories nowof patients who have gone on to
live longer lives, live healthierlives, see, see things happen that
(14:11):
they may not have done if theyhadn't come for the screening test.
I think the other thing that YorkCancer's research has, has funded and
that we've been looking at is, uh,trying to help those people who come
screening who are still smoking, uh.
(14:32):
And that's obviously the mainrisk factor for lung cancer.
But a third of people roughly are stillsmoking when they come for screening.
And we have separate, a separateresearch project, um, built into the
screening trial, looking at how bestto help those people, uh, who are still
smoking, how, how best to help them quit.
(15:02):
You know, maybe opportunities missed been.
By stopping, they kind ofreduce their chance of getting
lung cancer in the future.
But also they, uh, there's all mannerof other health benefits of stopping,
(15:23):
which everyone's well aware of.
Um, and so that's that as, as youknow, finding early stage lung
cancers and, and being able to.
Offer treatment to curethem has been brilliant.
Uh, but equally there's beenabout 800 people, um, in the group
invited for screenings who we'vebeen able to help stop smoking.
(15:43):
Uh, and that will have huge BenHealth benefits for them as well.
So we really see the two ofthese going hand in hand.
Um, you know, the scans to detectthe early stage disease and
then the help where it's wantedto, to allow people to stop.
Kind of habit that they'vehad for a lifetime.
Yeah.
So, um, we, we worked alongside a teamfrom University of Nottingham, led by
(16:05):
Rachel Murray, uh, who ran the stopsmoking service that we did alongside
our, our lung cancer screening.
Uh, and they're setting up a study,uh, across several sites eventually,
including leads that's gonna belooking at different ways of.
(16:35):
Yeah, absolutely.
Yeah.
I think another thing to mention, um,as well is only about three quarters
of the people that we invited forscreening actually took up the offer
to do the telephone risk assessment.
Um, and we know that the people thatdidn't looking at records, the more
likely to be smokers and probablyat higher risk of lung cancer.
And a challenge for us as we moveforward to the national program
(16:57):
is getting more people screening.
Helping navigate peopleinto screening in the.
I guess there must still be that, whichis in, you know, in part completely
(17:20):
understandable, that element of, oh, Idon't wanna find out that I've got cancer.
Because as you said, Susan, finding outyou just wanted to take to your bed.
Yeah.
And I can completely understandwhy, you know, your head would,
would, would do that to you.
And, and well, that'swhere you want to be.
Nobody wants to, to find out that, that.
(17:41):
Outcome and operation and the restof your life to look forward to.
Yeah.
Is incredible.
What's the result then,of this research project?
What does this.
So we've, we've shown that, uh, lungcancer screening is deliverable in
the way that we've done it over thestudy in these mobile units, we've
(18:02):
shown that there's value for money.
We've shown that it saves lives.
So the data that we collected, someof that was used by the National
Screening Committee, uh, to announcethat there should be a national
screening program in the uk.
And that is our intention nextyear in Leeds, that we start a
lung cancer screening program inLeeds and we will save more lives.
(18:22):
Susan, to be a part of that, tohave been one of those people who
saw the letter and to actually say,yeah, do you know what I'll, I'll.
Not just for you, but for other peoplethat will now be able to benefit.
Yeah,
you'll help save tens of thousandsof lives because you turning up for
screening and doing what you did hasgiven us the data that we've got shown
(18:46):
that lung cancer screening works.
So you are giving back everytime somebody's cancers found.
It's because somebody likeyou's turned up for screening.
So thank you.
Absolutely.
Yeah.
How does that make you feel,Susan, to hear that you've been
such an instrumental part in.
Saving.
Oh, wonder
Woman.
No, you're, I owe you all my life
(19:10):
and you can find out more aboutthe treatments in our show notes.
Coming up on our next episode,
we have become increasingly aware.
That baby's health doesn'tstart at the time of birth.
It's been going on for several monthsbefore that in their mom's womb.
And the things that can happen duringpregnancy have a profound impact
(19:34):
on the baby, not just at birth, butthroughout the early and later lives.
And you can hear more from Mr.Nigel Simpson in our next episode.
That looks into research during pregnancyand on babies medical breakthroughs.
The research journey is anunder the mask audio production.
I.
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Cold Case Files: Miami
Joyce Sapp, 76; Bryan Herrera, 16; and Laurance Webb, 32—three Miami residents whose lives were stolen in brutal, unsolved homicides. Cold Case Files: Miami follows award‑winning radio host and City of Miami Police reserve officer Enrique Santos as he partners with the department’s Cold Case Homicide Unit, determined family members, and the advocates who spend their lives fighting for justice for the victims who can no longer fight for themselves.