Heavy smokers are often reluctant to be screened for lung cancer, according to doctors who are pioneering new clinics dedicated to spotting the disease at its early stages in the hope of lifting the stigma.
“Some people feel guilty about their smoking. We’re trying to wash away a lot of the stigma associated with lung cancer and smoking,” said Dr Richard Lee, consultant respiratory physician at the Royal Marsden, an NHS hospital specialising in cancer treatment.
The hospital’s private clinic in central London is now screening patients for early stage lung cancer, years before the National Health Service completes its nationwide rollout of the same programme, known as Targeted Lung Health Checks.
Patients aged between 55 to 74 whose history of smoking puts them at high risk of lung cancer will be offered a low-dose computed tomography scan.
“One of the big challenges has been how do you get people to come to the programme. It's important to raise awareness about what lung cancer is and the opportunity for positive outcomes,” Dr Lee told The National.
But the scan could help doctors to catch the cancer early, saving lives and reducing the need for chemotherapy. “It seemed like an obvious thing for us to do,” Dr Lee said.
“Research has shown that low-dose CT scans of patients that are at high risk of lung cancer reduce the number of people who die from it,” he said.
“It’s quite a limited service at the moment on the NHS, so we wanted to be able to offer another route to access the service,” he added.
Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer deaths in the UK, because the disease is often caught in the late stages. The survival rate for the disease is currently 10 per cent, and this has not improved in 50 years, according to the charity Cancer Research UK.
The NHS announced a national rollout of its lung cancer screening programme in June, which it expects to complete by March 2030.
More than 200,000 smokers and former smokers aged between 55 and 74 were scanned in the first pilot phase of the NHS programme, which began in 2019. Of these, lung cancer was detected in 2,000 people, with 76 per cent at an earlier stage compared to 29 per cent in 2019 outside of the programme.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak hopes the programme will “provide a lifeline to thousands of families across the country.” Yet the NHS is plagued by a shortage of diagnostics technology, including CT scanners, a report by the King’s Fund think tank found in June.
Dr Lee was involved in developing the NHS model, and this experience helped him set up the clinic at the Royal Marsden in between 12 and 18 months. “We’re quite agile in what we’re able to offer in the Marsden. We have the capacity, we have the new facility at Cavendish Square, so it seemed like quite a straightforward thing for us to add to the services we offer,” he said.
The service will be extended to people under 55 and over 75 with potential symptoms of the disease, such as a persistent cough, shortness of breath and coughing up blood.
The screening will involve a 30-minute consultation with a specialist to assess whether the patient would benefit from a CT scan. “If you’ve not smoked enough we wouldn’t recommend a CT scan,” said Dr Lee, pointing to the imaging technology’s low radiation exposure.
The risks are assessed on a case-by-case basis which looks at the patient's smoking habits, their family history and existing respiratory problems. The consultations can, “in theory”, be booked for the next day, with a CT scan usually offered on the same day or within a few days. The results of the scan will be offered within two weeks.
Early diagnosis could improve the patient’s treatment options. “It’s much more likely that those patients will get lung surgery to remove the cancer, rather than more complicated chemotherapy regimens,” said Dr Lee.
“Some patients will still need chemotherapy or radiotherapy, but the treatment will be much more straightforward when you diagnose at an early stage,” he added.
More than one in 10 people in the UK (13.3 per cent) smoke but the habit is on the decline, according to 2021 census data from the Office of National Statistics.
Yet Dr Lee believed the effects of smoking would continue to be visible in the next decades. “It would take many years for the damage that’s been done to subside. If you think of the number of people who are smoking now, their risk is going to be high for decades,” he said.
“It's important to make sure there's awareness of what lung cancer is and the opportunity for positive outcomes,” he said.
The new clinic's launch comes as researchers are increasingly linking lung cancer to air pollution.
In April, a study by the Francis Crick Institute, University College London and Cancer Research UK found that air pollution “wakes up” dormant cancer cells which could “grow and form tumours”.
Lung cancer is the seventh most common cause of cancer death among people who have never smoked.
“We don’t fully understand the risks behind that. Pollution and indoor cooking smoke are probably factors,” said Dr Lee. “That will likely become more important as the population ages or as smoking becomes less prominent.”
Yet it is still too early to assess the risks air pollution and devise treatment options, said Dr Lee. “We’re not there yet clinically. But you could hope that in the future we could quantify people at risk from other factors that they’ve been exposed to,” he said.
Tips to stay safe during hot weather
- Stay hydrated: Drink plenty of fluids, especially water. Avoid alcohol and caffeine, which can increase dehydration.
- Seek cool environments: Use air conditioning, fans, or visit community spaces with climate control.
- Limit outdoor activities: Avoid strenuous activity during peak heat. If outside, seek shade and wear a wide-brimmed hat.
- Dress appropriately: Wear lightweight, loose and light-coloured clothing to facilitate heat loss.
- Check on vulnerable people: Regularly check in on elderly neighbours, young children and those with health conditions.
- Home adaptations: Use blinds or curtains to block sunlight, avoid using ovens or stoves, and ventilate living spaces during cooler hours.
- Recognise heat illness: Learn the signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke (dizziness, confusion, rapid pulse, nausea), and seek medical attention if symptoms occur.
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
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ANDROID%20VERSION%20NAMES%2C%20IN%20ORDER
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Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
The%20specs
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When Umm Kulthum performed in Abu Dhabi
Known as The Lady of Arabic Song, Umm Kulthum performed in Abu Dhabi on November 28, 1971, as part of celebrations for the fifth anniversary of the accession of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan as Ruler of Abu Dhabi. A concert hall was constructed for the event on land that is now Al Nahyan Stadium, behind Al Wahda Mall. The audience were treated to many of Kulthum's most well-known songs as part of the sold-out show, including Aghadan Alqak and Enta Omri.
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Six pitfalls to avoid when trading company stocks
Following fashion
Investing is cyclical, buying last year's winners often means holding this year's losers.
Losing your balance
You end up with too much exposure to an individual company or sector that has taken your fancy.
Being over active
If you chop and change your portfolio too often, dealing charges will eat up your gains.
Running your losers
Investors hate admitting mistakes and hold onto bad stocks hoping they will come good.
Selling in a panic
If you sell up when the market drops, you have locked yourself out of the recovery.
Timing the market
Even the best investor in the world cannot consistently call market movements.
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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Saudi Arabia
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South Korea
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The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
The biog
Favourite film: Motorcycle Dairies, Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday, Kagemusha
Favourite book: One Hundred Years of Solitude
Holiday destination: Sri Lanka
First car: VW Golf
Proudest achievement: Building Robotics Labs at Khalifa University and King’s College London, Daughters
Driverless cars or drones: Driverless Cars
Company%20profile
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Race card
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,600m
5.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m
6pm: Arabian Triple Crown Round-1 Listed (PA) Dh230,000 (T) 1,600m
6.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 1,400m
7pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,200m
7.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 (T) 2,400m
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
Company profile
Company: Verity
Date started: May 2021
Founders: Kamal Al-Samarrai, Dina Shoman and Omar Al Sharif
Based: Dubai
Sector: FinTech
Size: four team members
Stage: Intially bootstrapped but recently closed its first pre-seed round of $800,000
Investors: Wamda, VentureSouq, Beyond Capital and regional angel investors
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
How to avoid crypto fraud
- Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
- Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
- Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
- Only invest in crypto projects that you fully understand.
- Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
- Only use reputable platforms that have a track record of strong regulatory compliance.
- Store funds in hardware wallets as opposed to online exchanges.
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
