01/11/2006

Minister launches Lung Cancer awareness month

Health Minister Rosie Winterton has launched Lung Cancer Awareness month at the Royal Mail's South London Mail Centre.

Ms Winterton launched the month at the opening of a special bus, which will tour Royal Mail sites and give information to their workforce on a range of health issues, including lung cancer.

The minister met representatives from Royal Mail, the voluntary sector and health professionals and also heard first hand the experiences of lung cancer patients. She said: "Lung cancer is the second most common cancer in the UK but people don't realise that if it is caught early enough it doesn't have to be a death sentence. This is why Lung Cancer Awareness Month is so important. Working in partnership with the voluntary sector, we must ensure that people are aware of the symptoms and know to seek professional help at the earliest opportunity."

Nearly 38,000 people are diagnosed with the disease each year and survival rates are vastly improved if the condition is caught early. Symptoms include:
  • a cough that doesn't go away after two or three weeks
  • worsening of a long-standing cough or coughing up blood
  • persistent chest infections, breathlessness or tiredness
  • persistent weight loss and chest or shoulder pain
  • more spit or phelgm, especially with blood in it
  • losing your voice but no sore throat
  • swelling in your face or neck.
Lung Cancer Awareness month is supported by a number of charities including the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation; Cancer Research UK; and the British Lung Foundation.

(KMcA)

Related UK National News Stories
Click here for the latest headlines.

06 June 2012
British Lung Foundation Warn Of Risk With Cannabis Use
Experts at the British Lung Foundation (BLF) are warning that the public dangerously underestimates the health risks linked to smoking cannabis. A survey of 1,000 adults found a third wrongly believed cannabis did not harm health.
31 October 2005
Call for action on prostate cancer
The leaders of the three main political parties have issued a joint call for greater action to tackle the problem of prostate cancer. Prime Minister Tony Blair, Conservative leader Michael Howard and Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy have all recorded messages of support for the Prostate Cancer Charter for Action.
01 November 2011
Cancer Group Hits Out Over Rihanna Video
Rihanna’s latest video for her hit, We Found Love, has been slammed by an Ulster Cancer charity, because of the amount of smoking depicted. The Ulster Cancer Foundation (UCF) said artists such as Rihanna were held in high esteem and regarded as role-models by millions of young people and were upset by her regular smoking in the video.
17 November 2003
Charities call for more lung cancer scanners
Leading lung cancer experts, charities and patients have today called on the government to provide more scanners for lung cancer patients in England and Wales.
08 August 2011
Cancer Survivors 'Should Exercise', Charity Claims
More than a million cancer survivors could be putting themselves at risk of long-term health problems because they are not physically active enough, a report by Macmillan Cancer Support has claimed. The charity's report, Move More, said that of the two million cancer survivors in the UK, around 1.