Residents of an East Lancs town who have taken part in the NHS Targeted Lung Health Check (TLHC) are being urged to attend their follow up scans.

Described as an MOT for lungs, the TLHC has been offered to eligible residents in Blackburn with Darwen and Blackpool in the last two years as well as other parts of East Lancashire, and has saved more than 150 lives by identifying cancer earlier, often when there are no symptoms.

However, the NHS is now urging those who took part in the lung cancer screening check to attend their follow-up appointments and scans when invited.

Dr John Howells, clinical director for targeted lung health checks in Lancashire and South Cumbria, said: "The majority of people who take part in the targeted lung health checks receive a clean bill of health but there are some who require further treatment or to be monitored by attending a follow-up CT scan.

"It is vitally important that people attend these follow-up scans. Several thousand people in Blackburn will have received letter inviting them to our mobile CT scanner at Blackburn Rovers Football Club, Ewood Park, and I would encourage them to come and see us again so that we can keep a close eye on you and identify any lung abnormalities at an earlier stage and save more lives."

Lancashire and South Cumbria has one of the highest mortality rates for lung cancer in England and more than 52,000 past and current smokers aged 55 to 74 have been invited to take part in a TLHC so far.

Eligible residents in Hyndburn will be the next to benefit from the lung MOY when invites go out later this month.

The check takes place in two stages. The first is an initial phone assessment with a specially trained health care professional. If the assessment finds the person to be at high risk, they are offered a low-dose CT scan of the lungs for further investigation.

Dr Howells continued: “The national TLHC programme has diagnosed over 1,200 lung cancers with Lancashire and South Cumbria contributing approximately 10 per cent to those results.

"A huge 69 per cent of the lung cancers found by the Targeted Lung Health Check were diagnosed early - when our options for treatment are greater and the patient has a much better chance of survival.

"But we can only do this if people say yes when invited for their initial check-up or their follow-up scan. Please don’t ignore your invite.”