Somerset ex-smoker's lung cancer detected early through health check

An ex-smoker who had a tumour removed from his lung said he is relieved that a health check caught the tumour early.

Dave Rolfe, 69, from Bath was invited by his GP to take part in the Targeted Lung Health Check Programme, external.

The programme aims to find lung cancer at an early stage in former smokers aged 55-74.

More than 3,758 people have had a scan in the South West in less than a year - and 17 tumours were detected.

Of these, 82% were caught at an early stage.

"It would never ever have been picked up," said Mr Rolfe, who also overcame Hodgkin's lymphoma, external 35 years ago.

He went for a lung check-up at a mobile unit parked at St Martin's Hospital last October.

"I [went] along totally ignorant about the fact that I had a tumour growing on my lung - and thank goodness I did," he said.

According to the NHS, lung cancer causes more deaths than any other form of cancer in the UK.

The lung health check, external looks at how well your lungs are working, in order to diagnose lung cancer as early as possible.

Mr Rolfe said he smoked between 10 and 30 cigarettes a day for around 20 years but gave up 30 years ago without relapses.

A week after his health check, Mr Rolfe said he was shocked when he received a phone call to confirm that a tumour had been found.

The tumour was removed at the Bristol Royal Infirmary, where it was later confirmed to have been cancerous.

Mr Rolfe says he has since made a full recovery but will need regular check-ups for five years.

He urges people to register for the health check, even if they have quit smoking.

"I would advise anybody - especially men - to get checked out. Because we all think that we're coated in Teflon and nothing is gonna touch us.

"Five minutes out of your day can actually save your life."

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