On the BBC 1 6pm news tonight

[Bow-19]

bbc.co.uk/news/health-43034764

[Hidden]

I seen it .... quite a disgrace the way the try paint picture of smokers deserve to get it.

Would been nice if the talked about occupations causing cancer.

I started smoking myself in my mid 20 WHY becouse everyone I knew who never smoked died of lung cancer.

Also am still waiting for my dad’s oncologist to give my dad who is suffering from asbestos mesothelioma to be given anything to stop he’s cancer spreading.

I guess as he is Alzheimer’s Dementia suffer I think all be waiting a long time.

Cancer and injustice seem to go hand in hand and I think it’s worse if you lack a voice

[Bow-19 in reply to Hidden]

Yes you only need lungs to get lung cancer

[juliepoolie01]

Think that article is awful, somehow non smokers are more worthy of treatment, more worthy of understanding etc... most cancers are from poor lifestyle choices that we have pushed on us relentlessly from shops, to adverts to restaurants. Mum mum is a beautiful soul, she smoked. She gave up. She got cancer, she doesn’t deserve it!!! No-one deserves a cancer diagnosis

[Leslie42]

I saw it last night!!!

Without realising what they were doing they inadvertently played into the hands of those people that believe lung cancer sufferers get what they deserve.!!!!

Great, that it clearly made the point that you just require lungs to get lung cancer.

However, a prime spot on TV was not utilised to its full potential and the stigma will still remain 😩

[Bow-19]

I know that you only need lungs to get lung cancer. I was happy that there was some coverage of lung cancer and as I have a mutation and haven’t smoked I was pleased that it increased awareness that non smokers get lung cancer. No one deserves to get lung cancer and I believe that anything that can raise awareness in anyway is good.

[Hopes77]

Just watched heart breaking!

708 pound per person to research this disease.

You would think that preventative screening in the long term would save thousands apon thousands in money and life as it would or could be caught earlier.

My mum's was found after a routine chest x ray. She was lucky.

It's frightening that the NHS is deliberately being under funded by this Tory Gov and in relation to this research into many diseases like this will also suffer as a result.

I remember Roy Castle (even though I was young at the time), raising awareness of this disease back then.

It should never stop being raised as more seem to be dying from it than being successfully treated.

An awareness campaign is a must.

Like people have said we all have lungs!

[Bow-19 in reply to Hopes77]

I agree it needs a higher profile and more funding. I don’t know how this can be achieved though

[RoyCastleHelpline Partner Ask the Nurse Roy Castle]

Thank you for your messages concerning last night’s news article on the BBC. This was the personal story of a BBC journalist who lost his sister, so was exploring the emotions he has felt since losing her. We’ve been proud to help the BBC in producing this and helping lung cancer gain much needed publicity. We understand that some people may have concerns that this story has brought up, but this was a BBC produced story and they retained editorial control

We recognise strongly the stigma and prejudice behind lung cancer, and fight to change the perceptions that smokers “deserve” to get the disease. We believe everyone has the right to expect better treatment and better attitudes. November’s Lung Cancer Awareness Month campaign was dedicated to this, directly addressing the stigma and saying every patient deserves to hold their #HeadHigh.

For more information on our #head high campaign, please visit: roycastle.org/how-we-help/o...

Kind regards

Roy Castle Support Team

[Neil-SueD in reply to RoyCastleHelpline]

I've read the BBC website article several times and found the actual news item on iPlayer. I'm baffled that it could be perceived as a slight against smokers. The article highlights the chronic underfunding of research directed at such a major killer as compared with other cancers and implies this may be caused by the misconception it is only a smoker's disease and something which really needs to be addressed. Personally, I have known smokers and non-smokers get lung cancer. I gave up smoking on my 30th birthday yet was diagnosed with nsclc when I was 59, so I reckon I've got a foot in both camps, especially if one was to ONLY consider that I'd smoked and ignored other possible causes such as having worked with chemicals all my professional life, explored abandoned mines as a young man (radon hazard?) or there simply being a non-inherited genetic cause. Maybe we need to scare people out of thinking that by not smoking, they're "safe" from lung cancer in order to shake their complacency. Just about every smoker I've ever met thinks they'll dodge the bullet and it'll be "the other guy" who gets it and adds to the statistics. I guess I thought by giving up, I was probably safe, but despite having got lung cancer, I'm glad I gave up all those years ago.

Neil

[Solopower in reply to RoyCastleHelpline]

I really appreciated the HeadHigh campaign. My daughter and her family were invited to take part, and this campaign really helped them to feel they were doing something to help raise awareness. Having lung cancer is such a difficult thing to cope with, but this gave the whole family a sense of purpose and a welcome distraction. Thank you, Roy Castle, for all the wonderful work you do.

[Hidden]

In my opinion ,whether you smoked or not any coverage that lung cancer gets is essential to raise funding for research and early screening for earlier diagnosis .Bring it on look how well outcomes have improved for breast cancer treatments and over cancers by raising awareness of the poor disease outcomes without such input .

My Dad smoked and died of pancreatic cancer ,my mother smoked and died of lung cancer ,I have never smoked and have stage 4 lung cancer .I developed my disease a lot younger than they did and therefore likely to die before 60yrs . So far my brother who is older than I has no cancer turn up. There is no rhyme or reason to it .I had an Aunt who chained smoked all of her life but didn't get lung cancer and didn't die until her 80's of heart disease .

So for me its about getting the right treatment in the beginning and having best options available ,we all have lungs so we are all vulnerable. Lets not worry whether you have smoked or not , lets just get the input and the attention in what ever way we can, a united front is what we really need as a group. It is a difficult type of cancer to have and the statistics are really depressing we need help and government funding ,so lets get more media attention .That way we might get more treatment options .

I was just so pleased to see lung cancer mentioned on the news ,but I have noticed that was it , I have not seen anything else on the subject since .That is also depressing it sort of stops there or has anyone else seen anything else that's sprang from that media attention?

I am going on a bit so apologies . Diane

[JanetteR57 in reply to Hidden]

Totally agree. It's tricky - sometimes we never smokers feel affronted to be asked whether we smoked by clinicians despite it being a legitimate question as treatments differ due to the tumour mutation burden and often more likely a targeted agent will do better but then again anything trying to raise attention that anyone can get lung cancer is seen as a slight against smokers. One of my main concerns is that in the current 'screening' debate across Europe and UK, the only group being targeted is those with a smoking history over a certain age so me and many others like me would never be on the radar and as Dr David Gilligan eloquently puts it in the article, are often detected too late as medics automatically assume it's something far less sinister and waste precious months medicating for conditions that it isn't. Therefore there is a great need for awareness raising of the symptoms, prevalence and dreadful outcomes with everyone…..

I agree how the stories top - the same happened with Robert Peston's wife dying - there was a small flurry of articles because he's a journalist, the same with Nick Robinson, and then nothing…. it's a pity more isn't made of the fact that the Queen's father died of lung cancer despite a lobectomy and how progress has been made since then but nowhere enough...

[Bow-19]

I totally agree with everything that you have said