An early diagnosis can save lives – it did mine
CANCER SCAN AT SUPERMARKET
I AM so pleased the NHS is offering cancer scans at supermarkets (Mail). An early diagnosis of lung cancer is so important because by the time there are symptoms, it is usually too late. I was shocked to be diagnosed in July, when it was discovered by accident. I am 58, fit and healthy. I haven’t smoked for 30 years, and when I did briefly in my 20s, it was only around five cigarettes a day. I was admitted to hospital at the end of June with an irregular heart rate and a blood clot in my thumb. I was in hospital for four days having tests, the last being a CT scan. They didn’t find any more clots, but the consultant told me they had found a mass on my right upper lung. My husband and I were dumbfounded. I had taken it for granted I could never get lung cancer as I had been such a light smoker a long time ago. I then had a PET scan, which looks for cancer throughout the body, and a lung biopsy. These confirmed the cancer was isolated. After more tests, I was operated on in September and a third of my right lung removed. My nodes were tested and, thank God, were clear, which confirmed the cancer hadn’t spread. I couldn’t have keyhole surgery, so I have an impressive scar from my shoulder blade to under my arm. My recovery is ongoing, but I’m lucky I have my life in front of me and will see my grandchildren grow up. If I had not had the CT scan to check for clots, who knows how long it would have been before I had symptoms? Would it then have been too late to treat me successfully? If you are given the chance of a CT scan in a Tesco or Asda car park, my advice is go ahead because it could save your life. It did mine.
Mrs DONNA BEECHING, Leicester.