The Leeds Lung Cancer Screening Programme will offer thousands of people across Leeds the chance to get ahead of cancer.

Lung cancer is the deadliest cancer in Yorkshire, with deaths double those of breast and prostate cancer. There are often no signs or symptoms of lung cancer at an early stage which means that many people sadly have advanced incurable disease at the time of diagnosis.

Lung cancer screening with low dose CT scans aims to find lung cancer early, usually before people have symptoms.  When diagnosed early, treatment for lung cancer is much more effective, often achieving a complete cure.

Free NHS Lung Cancer Screening checks are now being rolled out across Leeds. Starting in September this year and planned for the next two years, the programme will invite anyone in Leeds aged between 55 and 74 who has previously smoked or is currently smoking to take part – estimated to be around 90,000 people.

Alliance Medical is supporting Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust to deliver the programme, providing the mobile imaging units and radiography teams who will carry out low-dose CT scans six days a week. The mobile scanning units will be located within local communities across Leeds to maximise accessibility and convenience, offering a modern, spacious, and comfortable environment, with stairs and lift access.

If you are registered with a Leeds GP and have ever smoked cigarettes, you can expect an invitation letter to be sent out to you over the next couple of years. This will invite you to a telephone appointment, where you will be asked some questions as part of a lung cancer risk assessment. If this shows you to have at high risk of lung cancer, you will then be invited for a lung CT scan at the mobile scanning unit which will be touring different locations across Leeds.

People are asked to wait for their invitation letter, but if you are currently experiencing breathing problems or if you have a cough that’s not going away, please don’t delay speaking to your GP.

The programme follows the success of the Leeds Lung Health Check trial, which ran between 2018 and 2024, screening 8,800 people and detecting over 400 lung cancers of which 4 out of every 5 were diagnosed at an early stage. Funded by Yorkshire Cancer Research and delivered in partnership with Leeds Teaching Hospitals and the University of Leeds, the trial helped pave the way for the national lung screening programme, set to be fully rolled out by the Government by 2030.

Professor Mat Callister, Lead Consultant in Respiratory Medicine at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and Honorary Professor at the University of Leeds, said:

“Following the earlier success of the Yorkshire Lung Screening Trial in Leeds, we are excited about now being able to offer free NHS screening to everyone at risk in the city. By catching cancer early, we will be able to save hundreds of lives in Leeds over the coming years. If you get an invitation for a phone conversation – please don’t ignore it. A simple check could save your life.”

Dawn Baldwin, National Diagnostic Imaging/Lung Operational Delivery Manager at Alliance Medical, said:

“We're proud to be working with Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust to bring lung cancer screening closer to communities across Leeds. Through our work with NHS partners across the country, we've seen the value of delivering screening within local communities, and we're looking forward to bringing that expertise in mobile imaging and operational delivery to the Leeds programme.”

Suzanne Rogerson, Lead Nurse for the Leeds Lung Cancer Screening Programme, said:

“This is an exciting opportunity to improve access to healthcare and help reduce health inequalities across Leeds. By bringing our mobile Lung Health Check unit into local communities, we can make screening more convenient, so it is easier for people to take part. Ultimately, this programme has the potential to save lives and improve the health of our communities.”

Stuart Griffiths, Director of Research, Policy and Impact at Yorkshire Cancer Research, said:

“Lung cancer causes around 3,000 deaths in Yorkshire each year, more than any other type of cancer. Too often, it’s found after symptoms have appeared, when treatment is less likely to be successful. This is why finding lung cancer earlier is so important, and the launch of the Leeds Lung Cancer Screening Programme is a major step forward. It builds on the success of the Leeds Lung Health Check trial, funded by Yorkshire Cancer Research, which showed that screening can identify lung cancer early, giving people a better chance of successful treatment and improved survival.”

Jason Pawluk, Programme Director of West Yorkshire and Harrogate Cancer Alliance, said:

“We continue to prioritise the roll out of the lung cancer screening programme in our region and are grateful for the support of all local partners in making the programme work and to ensure it is a success. It will be completed by the end of the decade, whilst the development plans for the transition to a national screening programme are confirmed. Lung Cancer Screening is funded through NHS England as part of efforts to improve early diagnosis of cancer and reduce inequalities in cancer outcomes.”

Further enquiries

Paul Widdowfield, Head of Communications, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, paul.widdowfield1@nhs.net 07917 883044

Nick Clark, Communications Manager, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, nick.clark3@nhs.net 07557 191 682

Dawn Baldwin, National Diagnostic Imaging/Lung Operational Delivery Manager, Alliance Medical, dbaldwin@alliance.co.uk

About the lung health check process

People aged from 55 to 74 who smoke or used to smoke usually have a higher risk of developing lung cancer. The majority of people will not have lung cancer , but if it is, we can act quickly and provide treatment. From September 2026 over the next two years, you will be sent a letter for a telephone appointment if you are eligible.

Step one

During the telephone conversation, a healthcare professional will call you to discuss your breathing, overall lung health, lifestyle, family and medical history. A risk score will be calculated, and this will decide the next steps.

Step two

You may then be offered a lung scan to check if your lungs are healthy. Not everyone who has a lung health check needs a lung scan. No further action is taken if participants are found to be at low risk of lung cancer.

Step three

If you require a scan you will be invited to for a CT scan appointment, which is a kind of x-ray test that takes a detailed picture of your lungs. The scan is quick, easy and painless.

If any treatment is needed, it is more effective if started as soon as possible.

For more details about the Leeds Lung Cancer Screening Programme please contact:

• www.leedsth.nhs.uk/lung-cancer-screening

• leedsth-tr.LungCancerScreening@nhs.net

• 0113 487 0699

For more information on lung cancer screening across West Yorkshire and Harrogate visit www.lunghealthcheckaware.co.uk

About Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust

Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust is one of the largest and busiest acute hospital trusts in the country. We are the local hospital for Leeds and provide specialist services for our local communities, the Yorkshire and Humber region and beyond.

This means that people in Leeds have access to some of the very best care in the country and benefit from a seamless provision of all services.

We play an important role in the training and education of medical, nursing and dental students, and are a centre for world-class research, innovation and pioneering new treatments.  

Leeds Teaching Hospitals has a budget of more than £2.1 billion and a 20,000-strong staff. Last year, we delivered close to 1.8 million episodes of care, including 109,000 inpatient admissions, 1.3 million outpatient attendances and 359,000 attendances in our Emergency Departments.  

Our care and clinical expertise is delivered from seven hospitals on five sites, and they are all joined by our vision to be the best for specialist and integrated care.  

Find out more on our website: www.leedsth.nhs.uk  

About Alliance Medical

Alliance Medical is a leading provider of diagnostic imaging services in the UK, operating a nationwide network of advanced imaging centres and mobile units.

Alliance Medical offers PET-CT, CT, and MRI services, supporting timely diagnosis and treatment for patients across the NHS and private sector.

The organisation is committed to continuous innovation, clinical excellence, and expanding access to high-quality imaging.

About Yorkshire Cancer Research 

Yorkshire Cancer Research has been funding cancer research and saving lives for over 100 years.  

Since its foundation in 1925, the charity has united with researchers, cancer experts and people in Yorkshire to bring life-saving breakthroughs, discoveries and progress in cancer research to the region.

Sadly, people in Yorkshire are more likely to have their lives cut short by cancer than almost anywhere else in England. As Yorkshire's cancer charity, Yorkshire Cancer Research is dedicated to changing this.  

Yorkshire Cancer Research works in partnership with researchers, clinicians, the NHS, public health bodies and other charities to pioneer new ways to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer in Yorkshire.

For more information, please visit YorkshireCancerResearch.org.uk or, follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram or Bluesky. For any media enquiries, please contact press@ycr.org.uk