We are delighted to announce the appointment of Tracey Cole, Pam Dalrymple and Marie Eaton to the LCNUK Committee. We welcome Tracey, Pam and Marie and look forward to their fresh perspectives and contributions to the planning and future activities of LCNUK. Learn more about our newly appointed Committee Members on our website.

Almost 30 Hospital Trusts and over fifty CNSs are ready to enrol patients on to the Health Companion. If you’re part of this trailblazing group – a huge thank you!  The Health Companion is designed to collect real-world data by enabling patients to submit information regarding their quality of life, general health, symptoms and experience of care. Please promote the app to your patients, tell them you are recommending it, give them the patient leaflet to take away, and encourage them to sign up when they feel most receptive. 

Read our latest blog from Julia McAdam who shares her experience of attending the European Respiratory Society Congress 2022 with support from LCNUK. Julia presented a poster on the Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on lung cancer referral and treatment at the event. The blog outlines some of Julia's highlights, which included sessions on mesothelioma in situ, prehabilitation and a fascinating collection of presentations on airborne pollution factors.

The UK national screening committee has recommended targeted lung cancer screening in the UK. People aged 55-74 who smoke, or used to smoke, will be invited for a lung assessment and may be offered low-dose CT scanning to check for early signs of lung cancer. We welcome this announcement, which has the potential to greatly improve early diagnosis of lung cancer. The move has been called for by many lung cancer charities including ULKCC, which LCNUK is a member of, who recently wrote to the new Secretary of State for Health and Social Care regarding lung cancer screening.  The Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation have also been highlighting the #NeedToScreen.

This summer the Lung Ambition Alliance launched their first report 'Lung cancer screening: learning from implementation', which showcases the wealth of existing research on low-dose computed tomography (LDCT). Following the NSC's lung cancer screening recommendation for the UK, this report provides practical lessons and best-practice case studies which can be used to inform the roll out of targeted screening programmes for lung cancer. 

Researchers report that a study from the COVID-19 and Cancer Consortium (CCC19) registry provides reassuring data for not withholding or delaying systemic cancer treatment in the context of recent COVID-19 infection according to data presented at the IASLC World Conference on Lung Cancer 2022.

A new role was created for a Macmillan community thoracic specialist nurse at South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, to travel to patients’ homes to provide social and emotional support after lung cancer surgery. As a result of the new posts, the department’s readmission rates reduced and patient experience improved according to data published in the Nursing Times.

Stoptober is now in its 11th year and it continues to empower people to give up smoking during October. There are a range of NHS resources you can signpost your patients to, including the Stoptober app (available on the App Store and Google Play) which provides a tally of how much money is saved by stopping smoking. There are also one-on-one and group sessions available with stop smoking advisers.

In collaboration with the Ruth Strauss Foundation, BTOG is holding a CPD educational event – an Essential Update on non-smoking lung cancer. Held on Thursday 13th October at The View, Lincoln Fields, London, the sessions will cover patient stories, the epidemiology and data, early diagnosis, diagnostics and treatments.

This summer Cancer Research UK (CRUK) produced a policy briefing on cancer inequalities in England. Their statement provides an overview of the key inequalities in cancer risk factors and across the cancer pathway. It also sets out a series of actions which they believe should be undertaken by Government in the NHS, in partnership with wider stakeholders, to drive meaningful change.

My Pleural Effusion Journey is a great information and decision tool for patients with a malignant pleural effusion - co-produced by patients and families affected by this condition. Made up of eight chapters, covering pleurodesis, trapped lung and treatment options. This resource can help your patients and those closest to them understand more about the different options and what might be the right choice for them. 

The #CatchUpWithCancer campaign is calling for the Government and NHS to boost cancer treatments to tackle the cancer treatment delays caused by COVID. Radiotherapy UK launched the campaign after Kelly Russell's life expectancy was drastically cut short after her bowel cancer treatment was stopped as a direct result of the COVID-19 response. You can support the campaign by signing the petition.

Cancer Research UK-funded scientists at the Francis Crick Institute and UCL have revealed how air pollution can cause lung cancer in people who have never smoked. Although smoking remains the biggest risk factor for lung cancer, outdoor air pollution causes roughly 1 in 10 cases of lung cancer in the UK. The research found that exposure to particulate matter (PM2.5) in the air promotes the growth of cells in the lungs which carry cancer-causing mutations.  

A Mesothelioma UK Research Centre study explored palliative care needs in mesothelioma, and looked at how Mesothelioma UK clinical nurse specialists meet those needs. You can watch their animation, which tells you more about the study findings and the role of palliative care in mesothelioma. The final report from this study is now available here. You can also access an infographic about the role of palliative care in mesothelioma.

A ground breaking new survey, conducted by a multi-disciplinary team in GO2 Foundation’s Lung Cancer Registry, found that sexual dysfunction is prevalent in women with lung cancer. The results were shared by study lead Dr Narjust Florez (Duma) with top clinicians, researchers and scientists from across the world on 9th August at the 2022 IASLC World Conference on Lung Cancer in Vienna.

The evidence presented in a report from ALK-Positive UK provides new information on the significant disparities in the treatment that patients receive. This health inequality is likely to have a detrimental effect on the survival outcomes for some of these patients. It would improve patient outcomes and overall survival if ALK-positive lung cancer disease management national guidelines were established and utilised across the NHS in the UK.