Free lung checks for smokers now being offered in Wood Green

Wood Green Community Diagnostic Centre is now part of a programme offering a free service for smokers and ex-smokers aged 55 to 74, reports Taro Kaneko

Wood Green’s NHS clinic is now providing free lung health checks to smokers and ex-smokers.

Wood Green Community Diagnostic Centre in The Mall is inviting those aged 55 to 74 years and who previously smoked or currently smoke to take part in a free targeted lung health checks programme.

This will be the third NHS location in North London to provide the programme and assess the risk of lung cancer, with University College Hospital and Finchley Memorial Hospital having carried out lung checks since 2022.

Arjun Nair, a consultant radiologist at University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We know that travelling from one part of North London to another may put people off completing their lung health check. We hope that residents in the Wood Green area or from nearby will take up the offer at the centre.

“Luckily, most people get the ‘all clear’ but having a scan does mean that early signs of lung cancer can be picked up even when there are no symptoms.”

The lung health checks will help detect lung cancer before symptoms start showing – which is usually when the disease has significantly progressed.

On average, 45% of new lung cancer cases in the UK are from people aged 75 and over, according to 2017-2019 data from Cancer Research UK.

The average number of new lung cancer cases per year was 245 for 40 to 44-year-olds, whereas 75 to 79-year-olds averaged 8,925 per year.

The number of cases was significantly lower in females than in males for several of the older age groups.

The lung check begins with an initial telephone call on family, medical and smoking history, before patients are invited to the clinic.

Following the telephone conversation, participants may be eligible for a low dose CT scan to assess any possible risk of lung cancer. Since the programme was launched in 2019, 5,307 lung cancers had been found, according to NHS data.

More than three-quarters of lung cancers identified by the programme were found at the earliest stage, when it is potentially curable. Dame Cally Palmer, NHS cancer director, said: “The targeted lung health check programme is a new model of care with a community focus, making it easier for people to come forward in a way that works for them.”

Wood Green Community Diagnostic Centre can be found at The Mall Wood Green, 159 The Mall, N22 6YQ. For more information about accessing the lung checks programme:
Visit lungchecklondon.org

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