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Promoting Lung Cancer Awareness Month

Lung Cancer Awareness Day

Lung Cancer Awareness Day

Leicester’s Hospitals’ Lung Cancer Specialist Nurses will run a stall at Beaumont Leys Shopping Centre on Thursday 16 November from 9am-4pm near Tesco to help promote Lung Cancer to the people of Leicestershire. The key message this year is that using e-cigarettes is a great way to reduce the harm caused by smoking tobacco.

The day is part of lung cancer awareness month this November and it is being held at Beaumont Leys to show the public the importance of looking after your lungs. Everyone is invited to take a break from their shopping to learn about the early signs and symptom recognition of lung cancer. Last year the team used a pair of giant inflatable lungs to grab student’s attention and to be used as a learning tool, whilst this year they are focussing on the public walking around Beaumont Leys Shopping Centre.

Sharon Savory, Macmillan Lung Cancer Nurse Specialist at Leicester’s Hospitals, said: “There are on average 500 plus patients a year diagnosed with lung cancer in Leicester and Leicestershire. The aim of lung cancer awareness month is to promote early symptom recognition and encourage the public to see their GP early. Evidence shows the earlier this disease is detected the better the outcome. We want to show the public what to look for, who to see and to learn to love their lungs. We will be joined on the day by our smoking cessation colleagues, Roy Castle Lung foundation, and Mesothelioma UK. The lung Nurses are all Macmillan post holders.”

Pauline McCallum is an ex-smoker and was diagnosed with Lung Cancer in 2013. She is now in stable in follow-up. Pauline said, “When I was diagnosed, Sharon Savory was my Lung Cancer Specialist Nurse. I had to have chemotherapy and radiotherapy to treat my cancer. I cannot fault the Leicester Lung Cancer team one bit; they were there all the way for me. If I’ve got a problem, I can just ring them up and they sort it for me. They are just one team and for what they do, they deserve a gold medal – absolutely marvellous.

“There’s quite a few of us with Lung Cancer and Mesothelioma that attend a support group set up by Sharon and her team and we meet every month for a chance to talk to each other, not about our problems, but to socialise. We all know what’s wrong but it’s nice to see everyone and meet up. We all look forward to these meetings as we are like family now.”

Sue Green, Senior Information Development Nurse at Macmillan, said: “Knowing what changes to look for and when to see your doctor could make a real difference. Don’t be scared if you have lung cancer symptoms, get them checked. If you do have cancer, the sooner it’s found, the better.”

Dr Paul Danaher, a General Practitioner, said: “If you are or have been a smoker and have had a cough for more than three weeks or have seen blood in phlegm, we want to know about it. Early cancer detection means early treatment and that saves lives. If you are still burning leaves to get your nicotine fix, it’s time to get into the 21st century, e-cigarettes and vaping can give you what you enjoy in a cigarette. If you are not ready to quit, it’s time to switch.”

Louise Ross, Stop Smoking Service Manager for Leicester City Council, said: ‘By the first week of Stoptober, all the advisors were reporting that their clinics were full, and it’s great to see such enthusiasm for stopping smoking. If you haven’t booked an appointment yet, it’s not too late, just call 0116 4544000 or email stop@leicester.gov.uk.

“This Stoptober, Public Health England is encouraging smokers to give e-cigarettes a go; we know that vaping is at least 95% safer than smoking, and that people who switch to vaping do very well with their quit attempt.”

Sanjay Agrawal, Consultant Respiratory Intensivist at Leicester’s Hospitals added: “E-cigarettes can really help people to quit tobacco even when they have tried quitting before. They seem to help people as using e-cigarettes still feels like smoking even though it isn’t and doesn’t carry the same level of harm as tobacco. Public Health England are right behind the campaign to use e-cigarettes to help smokers quit.”

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Quarter of us have less sympathy for lung cancer sufferers

Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation

Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation

Lung cancer is the most prevalent cancer in the world. Around 1.8 million people are diagnosed with lung cancer per year, with around 1.6 million dying as a result. In the UK, latest figures show around 44,000 new cases are diagnosed each year and with nearly 36,000 deaths annually.
A multi-national survey[i] has found that a quarter (25%) of Brits feel less sympathy for those diagnosed with lung cancer, as opposed to other cancers, due to the associated risks and causes such as smoking.

Yet, one in every seven people in the UK diagnosed with lung cancer doesn’t, or has never, smoked. This Lung Cancer Awareness Month (November), Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation are launching their ‘#HeadHigh’ campaign to tackle stigma associated with lung cancer. TV presenter, Roy Castle, himself died of lung cancer despite not being a smoker.

The survey also found that Brits could only name, on average, two symptoms associated with lung cancer. In total, 41% of those asked worldwide couldn’t name any symptoms of lung cancer whatsoever. Also, men are less sympathetic than women and similarly, younger people less sympathetic than older.

Emilee interviews Lorraine Dallas on behalf of PatientTalk.Org

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Making Lung Cancer Visible to Your Body

Lung cancer awareness

Lung cancer awareness

NICE recommends Immuno-oncology treatment to help the body’s immune system detect and fight lung cancer

 Cancer conceals itself from your body; Immuno-oncology is a promising new advancement in cancer treatment that uses medicines that work with the immune system to reveal and attack cancer cells.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) announced today its recommendation for the use of Pembrolizumab – the first and only immunotherapy recommended by the Institute.

According to the Cancer Research Institute, Immunotherapy is the most promising cancer treatment of our time, and with Pembrolizumab being the first ever immunotherapy treatment to be approved in the UK, it gives late stage lung cancer patients another option than palliative care.

Data gathered from a clinical study by MSD shows that pembrolizumab reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 50 percent compared to chemotherapy improving the overall survival of patients.

“MSD UK is really pleased with today’s NICE recommendation, which will see us working with the Cancer Drugs Fund so that patients can continue to access pembrolizumab as we further build our knowledge of its longer-term outcomes for patients,” said Louise Houson, UK Managing Director, MSD.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related mortality in the UK; only 5 per cent of lung cancer patients survive lung cancer for ten or more years in England and Wales, and the survival rate has changed very little in the last 40 years from 3% to 5%.

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Lung Cancer Awareness Day 2017 – What one hospital is doing to spread the word. Please like and share to show your support

Lung Cancer Awareness Day

Lung Cancer Awareness Day

Tomorrow is Lung Cancer Awareness Day 2017 so Leicester’s Hospitals’ Lung cancer nurses have organised an East Midlands Lung Cancer Awareness day at Loughborough University on 17 November from 9am-4pm in the Students Union.

The day is part of lung cancer awareness month and this year it is being held at the University to show students the importance of looking after your lungs. Students, members of the Public and also the local healthcare system are all invited to learn about early signs and symptom recognition of lung cancer. The team have a pair of giant inflatable lungs to grab people’s attention and to be used as a learning tool.

Other attendees at the event include Macmillan, Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation, and the Leicester Smoking cessation team. This is the main event in the East Midlands, whilst events are also taking place across other regions of the country.

Sue Manship, Smoking Cessation Specialist at Leicester’s Hospitals, said: “Most cases of lung cancer are caused by smoking, although people who have never smoked can also develop the condition. Smoking is responsible for more than 85% of all cases. If you smoke, the best way to prevent lung cancer and other serious conditions is to stop smoking as soon as possible. Speak to the team at the event for more information about available support.”

Sharon Savory, Lung Cancer Nurse Specialist at Leicester’s Hospitals, explained why she set up the event: “November is lung cancer awareness month and in the East Midlands we like to raise awareness of the disease and promote early symptom recognition and better outcomes with early detection.

“We have over the last few years held the event in the city centre but after two years of getting soaking wet and having soggy leaflets we decided to go for an indoor venue!!! We want to show the students at the University how to love their lungs, look after them and recognise any changes in their health relating to the lungs. As a team we look forward to awareness month as it is our chance to show case lung cancer and how well people can respond if referred early.”

Lorraine Dallas, Director of Information and Support Services at Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation, added: “Lung health is vital. Too few people properly understand that if you have lungs, you can get lung cancer. It can affect anyone, regardless of lifestyle, fitness and background. It’s important to be aware of the signs and symptoms to look out for, because early detection is the key to getting effective treatment”.

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How one hospital is supporting Macmillan Lung Cancer Awareness Month

From tomorrow Thursday 5th November the Lung Cancer Nurse Specialist Team from Leicester’s Hospitals along with members from the Mesothelioma UK Resource Centre based in Leicester are teaming up with the Macmillan Mobile Bus Service to urge the public to be ‘Signs and Symptoms Aware’.

Macmillan Cancer Support

Macmillan Cancer Support

The public will be encouraged to play their part in helping to detect early diagnosis to fight the UK’s most lethal forms of lung cancer. The Macmillan Mobile Bus Service will be stopping off in different locations in Leicestershire from Tuesday 3rd to Thursday 5th November.

The Lung Cancer Nurse Specialist Team along with the Smoking Cessation Specialists will be attending the event on Thursday between 8am and 6pm at the Haymarket Shopping Centre on Humberstone Gate West. No appointment is necessary, and everyone is welcome.

The team will be there to offer free, confidential advice and support to anyone with a concern or a question relating to any aspect of lung cancer and its treatment.

Sharon Savory, Lung Cancer Nurse Specialist from Leicester’s Hospitals, said: “Each year our team get involved to promote the awareness of all types of lung cancer and this year has coincided with the Macmillan Cancer Support’s Mobile Bus Road Show and so we will be going along to provide support and to help hand out literature and advice to anyone who wants to talk to us. The message we want to convey is that it is important to detect symptoms early and to visit your GP immediately in order to get the best possible treatment.”

If you have questions about cancer or want to find out more about the signs and symptoms of lung cancer or want advice on how to quit smoking then please visit: www.macmillan.org.uk or call Macmillan free on 0808 808 00 00.