Ex-Minister calls for lung cancer screening

FORMER CABINET Minister James Brokenshire has called for a national screening programme for lung cancer after he thanked an early diagnosis for saving his life from the disease.

The MP stood down from his role as Northern Ireland Secretary in January to undergo surgery to remove a cancerous tumour from his right lung.

Since returning to Parliament in February, he has been talking to lung cancer charities and other health experts on steps to improve life chances for those diagnosed with the disease.

Mr Brokenshire used a debate in Parliament to call for a national programme to improve poor survival rates, telling MPs that trusting his instincts and receiving an early diagnosis saved his life. Speaking ahead of it, he said: “Half of us will get cancer and it can strike you when you least expect. I was lucky because my cancer was caught early and I can look to the future positively. But too often that doesn’t happen.”

Lung cancer is the UK’s biggest cancer killer and outcomes continue to be poor – mainly because it is detected and diagnosed too late.

It kills 36,000 people every year – more than breast, prostate and pancreatic cancer combined.

Mr Brokenshire, 50, was prompted to see his GP after a single incident when he coughed up a small amount of blood. He said much stigma surrounds lung cancer, with many people incorrectly believing it is only caused by smoking.