Overview
- NHS data published Sunday shows the Lung Cancer Screening Programme, using mobile CT units since 2019, has identified 10,678 lung cancers and more than three quarters were found at stages one or two.
- The scheme uses vans parked in supermarket car parks, stadiums and high streets to offer lung health checks and low‑dose CT scans to people aged 55 to 74 with a smoking history.
- More than 3.3 million people have been invited so far and over 800,000 have had a CT scan, figures show.
- Patient accounts such as Ken Roberts, who had a stage‑1 tumour removed after a supermarket check, illustrate how on‑site screening can catch treatable cancers before symptoms appear.
- NHS leaders say a nationwide rollout by 2030 would invite about six million people and could find up to 50,000 cancers, and charities warn that staffing and funding must be secured to deliver that impact and meet national survival targets.