Pharmacists At The Front Line In Early Detection Of Lung Cancer, UK

Main Category: Lung Cancer
Also Included In: Pharmacy / Pharmacist
Article Date: 07 Nov 2007 - 4:00 PDT

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Pharmacists demonstrated that they are an important front line health service resource in the early detection of lung cancer at the launch of Lung Cancer Awareness Month on 1 November, at Tottenham Hotspurs Football Club, White Hart Lane.

Lung Cancer Awareness Month is an annual event promoting the message that early detection and treatment of the disease can save lives. At the campaign launch, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (RPSGB) hosted a lung health 'clinic' to show how pharmacists can help alert people to the possible signs and symptoms of lung cancer.

Attendees, including former football star Gary Lineker, were tested with a spirometer, a device that measures the way air is inspired and expired by the lungs and gives a good indication of general lung health. Ann Keen MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Health Services, also visited the stand.

Graham Phillips, RPSGB council member and member of the Lung Cancer Awareness Month Working Group convened by the Department of Health said:

"The lung cancer clinic offered a valuable opportunity to demonstrate to Government and the general public that pharmacists are a valuable, accessible source of important public health information and services.

"The message is that pharmacists are ideally placed to detect early signs and symptoms of lung cancer, offer advice and refer people to a GP when appropriate. Early detection of lung cancer can help save lives and pharmacists have a crucial role to play in this." Pharmacist Davan Eustace, a member of the Community Pharmacy Special Interest Group and the RPSGB's initial nominee on the Working Group, said:

"As cancer survival rates improve, cancer is no-longer the death-threat it once was. Pharmacists are ideally placed both in terms of accessibility and location to identify symptoms and refer early."

"A persistent cough is a typical early sign of having lung cancer. Pharmacists are likely to see more patients with a cough than other health professionals and can have a key role in early referral, thereby saving many lives." Lung Cancer Awareness Month, now in its fifth year, was pioneered by Macmillan Cancer Support and the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation.

Early signs of lung cancer:

- A persistent cough
- Worsening of a longstanding cough
- Persistent chest infections
- Coughing blood
- Unexplained persistent breathlessness
- Unexplained persistent tiredness or lack of energy
- Unexplained persistent weight loss
- Persistent chest and / or shoulder pain

Although overall incidence rates of lung cancer in the UK fell by 16% between 1995 and 2004, lung cancer remains the most common cause of death from cancer in the UK, with some 38,000 new cases diagnosed each year.

Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain