Hundreds of people have been diagnosed with lung cancer earlier through NHS mobile trucks, part of the NHS Targeted Lung Health Check Programme.

Thanks to NHS teams who are making it even easier for people to get a Lung MOT in travelling trucks visiting different areas across the country, NHS England says that 600 people have been diagnosed earlier via the community initiative.

The programme has seen 77 per cent of cancers caught at either stage one or two, giving patients a much better chance of beating the illness. This compares to less than a third of cancers caught at either stage one or two in 2018.

Mobile trucks are scanning those most at risk from lung cancer, including current and ex-smokers, inviting them for an MOT of their lungs and an on the spot chest scan for those at highest risk. NHS cancer chiefs are urging those most at risk of lung cancer to come forward as soon as they are invited for a life-saving health check, to help even more people benefit from early diagnosis.

A further 20 NHS lung truck sites are due to go live shortly with the capacity to invite 750,000 more people at increased risk for a check, in efforts to catch thousands more cancers at an earlier stage.

Dame Cally Palmer, NHS cancer director, said: “These lung checks can save lives – by going out into communities we find more people who may not have otherwise realised they have lung cancer – with hundreds already diagnosed and hundreds of thousands due to be invited.

“The trucks are conveniently located to make them easy to access and it is vital that as soon as you are invited, you take up the offer and come forward for these potentially life-saving checks. The rollout of our Targeted Lung Health Check Programme is a huge step towards reaching our NHS Long Term Plan ambitions of catching thousands more cancers at an earlier stage when they are easier to treat.”