NHS England and NHS Improvement, together with PHE (Public Health England), are launching the lung cancer phase of the ‘Help Us, Help You’ campaign.
Primary Message
- If you’ve had a cough for three weeks or more, and it isn’t COVID-19, it could still be a warning sign.
- A cough for three weeks or more could be a sign of cancer. Just contact your GP practice.
- It’s probably nothing serious, but finding cancer early makes it more treatable
- Your NHS is here to see you, safely.
Secondary Message
- If a friend or family member has been coughing for three weeks or more, and it isn’t COVID-19, encourage them to contact their GP practice.
- In addition to the symptom of a cough for three weeks or more, other symptoms of lung cancer include:
- Chest infections that keep coming back
- Coughing up blood
- A long-standing cough that gets worse
- An ache or pain when breathing or coughing
- Persistent breathlessness
- Persistent tiredness or lack of energy
- Loss of appetite or unexplained weight loss
Early diagnosis and treatment of cancer can save lives.
COVID-19 Messaging
- Get tested for COVID-19 if you have a new, continuous cough – this means coughing a lot for more than an hour, or three or more coughing episodes in 24 hours (if you usually have a cough, it may be worse than usual).
- NHS staff are working to ensure that, wherever possible, cancer treatment can continue safely. This includes re-establishing COVID-secure cancer hubs and consolidating cancer surgery, prioritising people for surgery centrally based on clinical need and drawing on the independent sector to increase capacity. Between March and December 2020, nearly 1.7 million people were urgently referred by their GP with suspected cancer and over 228,000 people started treatment for cancer – 95% within 31 days. Thanks to the efforts of NHS staff and partners, cancer treatments were maintained at 89% across this period (90% radiotherapy, 89% chemotherapy, 86% surgery).
- In the lead up to Christmas, urgent referrals and treatments were at or above the level they were in the same period in 2019. That means we entered the most recent period of pressure in a strong position.
- Lung cancer GP referrals remain lower than normal and have been the slowest by far out of all cancer types to recover since the start of the pandemic. As of December 2020, lung cancer referrals had reached 73% of pre-COVID levels, while referrals for all cancers were just over 100%.6 This suggests that there are people who may have worrying symptoms who are still not contacting their GP.
Cancer services remain an absolute priority for the NHS. Thanks to the efforts of NHS staff, cancer services have been maintained throughout the pandemic so treatment can continue safely.
Any decision to reschedule cancer treatment will be a last resort.