You may not realise that a cough for three weeks or more could be a sign of lung cancer, but it’s vital that you contact your GP practice if you have a persistent cough, and don’t wait to see if it resolves on its own.
It’s probably nothing serious, but finding cancer early makes it more treatable and can save lives.
Your NHS wants to see you!
For more information on cancer signs and symptoms go to nhs uk/ cancersymptoms
- Lung cancer is the third most common cancer in England with around 40,000 cases diagnosed each year. Around 89% of those are aged 60 and over.
- Lung cancer is England’s biggest cause of cancer death. In 2020, around 27,000 people died from lung cancer in England.
- In 2020, lung cancer accounted for 11% of all cancer diagnoses in England and 20% of all cancer deaths.
- Five year survival for persons diagnosed with stage 1 lung cancer is 63% compared with just 4% for those diagnosed with late stage (stage 4) lung cancer.
- Between 1995 and 2020, age standardised incidence rates of lung cancer have increased from 50.8 per 100,000 to 62.2 per 100,000 for females. In males age standardised incidence rates of lung cancer have decreased from 126.6 per 100,000 to 77.2 per 100,000.
- Between 2001 and 2020, age standardised mortality rates of lung cancer have slightly decreased from 44.7 per 100,000 to 42.94 per 100,000 for females. In males age standardised mortality rates of lung cancer have decreased more significantly from 95.7 per 100,000 to 58.4 per 100,000 10