DAVID Assheton had no idea he had lung cancer until he was tested in a supermarket car park.
He is now one of more than 5,000 people who have been diagnosed with out-of-hospital NHS lung scans.
The 70-year-old former mechanic, from Rugby in Warwickshire, caught his tumour early and is back to normal life after surgery.
The health service began running mobile units in supermarket car parks, town centres and leisure centres in at-risk areas in 2019.
It said the system has now found 5,037 people to have the tumours, which are the most common cause of cancer death in England.
Three quarters, including David, found their cancer at stage one or two, when hopes of a cure are highest.
Just as your car needs servicing, your body needs it too – so get checked
David Assheton
Most people diagnosed in hospital have more advanced disease and worse survival chances.
David said: “My first scan was in a Sainsbury’s car park.
“It was followed by a call and another scan because they found a suspicious nodule.
“I was told not to worry and was given an operation date, which came around fairly quickly.
“I was shocked to learn I had cancer but I was amazed at how quickly I recovered from surgery.
“I was walking within a week and back to playing hockey just six weeks after my operation.
“Just as your car needs regular servicing, your body needs it too – so go and get checked!”
Lung cancer is the third most common type of cancer in the UK with 49,000 cases and 35,000 deaths each year.
Most cases are caused by smoking.
NHS screening is offered to current and former smokers aged between 55 and 74 to try and catch tumours before symptoms start and the disease spreads.
Signs of illness include a long-term cough, coughing up blood, and always feeling breathless or tired.
NHS England said patients are about 20 times more likely to survive five years or more if their cancer is caught in the earliest stages.
Cancer director Dame Cally Palmer said: “These lung checks can save lives.
“It’s fantastic that the NHS has been able to diagnose thousands of people at an early stage when lung cancer is potentially curable.
“This 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.”
LUNG cancer is the most deadly common cancer in the UK.
It is considered a common cancer alongside prostate, breast and bowel, which together make up more than half of all new cases.
Around 49,000 people are diagnosed with lung cancer every year and 35,000 die from it.
Just one in 10 patients survive for a decade or more after being diagnosed and lung tumours make up 21 per cent of cancer deaths in the UK but only 13 per cent of cases.
The main reason that it is so deadly is that symptoms are not obvious in the early stages.
When signs do appear they may include:
The NHS does not routinely screen for lung cancer but is rolling out more tests to smokers and ex-smokers at high risk, in a bid to catch it earlier. Testing may involve X-rays and chest CT scans.
Smoking is the number one risk factor for lung cancer and accounts for about 70 per cent of cases.
Risk may also be higher for people who have inhaled other fumes or toxic substances at work, such as asbestos, coal smoke or silica.
