The wife of Roy Castle has praised the significant progress that has been made in the fight against lung cancer on the 30th anniversary of his death.
Fiona Castle believes the late entertainer would think they had done something ‘worthwhile’ as she looks back on what has been achieved over the last three decades in the treatment of lung cancer.
“To see how far we’ve come is quite staggering,” reflects Fiona. “When Roy was diagnosed with lung cancer, the outlook was so bleak. The chances of catching it early were slim and treatments limited. Now we’re seeing more people diagnosed far sooner, with many ways to treat all stages of the disease.”
Roy Castle died of lung cancer on 2nd September 1994. In the final two months of his life, Roy embarked on a tour of the country with the lung cancer charity formerly known as the Lung Cancer Fund to raise awareness and funds for lung cancer research.
But whilst the Tour of Hope was Roy’s final curtain call, it marked the beginning of a new era for lung cancer.
“Roy always said he was doing the tour for ‘our children and our children’s children’”, Fiona continues. “He knew it was too late for him but that he could make a difference to the generations that followed, and I feel that has certainly been the case.”
The start of something
The money raised from the Tour of Hope set the wheels in motion to fund the world’s first lung cancer research centre, with millions of pounds of research conducted since.
Mike Davies is a Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation Senior Research Fellow at the University of Liverpool whose work was made possible because of Roy’s legacy.
He said: “So much of the work we have undertaken would never have happened without Roy and the charity. This includes the lung cancer biobank where we collected thousands of samples for over 20 years to better understand the disease and speed up diagnosis, as well as the development of a cancer risk score now used in the NHS Targeted Lung Health Check programme.
This work would not have been possible without the generosity of those who have donated to the cause, be that money, time or samples, inspired by Roy’s bravery and dedication.”
The risk model is one of two now used as part of the targeted lung health check programme operated by NHS England and is arguably the biggest step forward in improving outcomes for lung cancer.
Available to people aged 55-74 with a smoking history, the programme aims to detect lung cancer at the earliest opportunity, often before people even have any symptoms. By catching lung cancer earlier, people have more treatment options, including surgery to remove the tumour. Three quarters of those diagnosed through screening have been caught at stages 1 and 2.
“I don’t think even Roy, as optimistic as he was, could ever have hoped for what we are now seeing through these early screening programmes,” exclaims Fiona. “The concept was such a pipedream back then.
“But the charity never gave up the fight. They knew the importance of early detection and the lives screening could save. That’s exactly what it’s doing, and I couldn’t be prouder.”
A timeline of achievements
Apr 1990: Prof Ray Donnelly sets up the Lung Cancer Fund
Oct 1991: Prof Ray Donnelly performs the first removal of a lung cancer by keyhole surgery
Early 1992: Roy Castle shocked the nation when he was diagnosed with lung cancer
May 1993: Charity awards the first grant of its kind to study early genetic changes in lung cancer, laying the groundwork for screening high risk individuals.
Nov 1993: Roy Castle announces his lung cancer has returned
Jul 1994: Roy Castle embarks on the Tour of Hope, raising £1million towards the world’s first lung cancer research centre
Sep 1994: Roy Castle passes away
1995: The charity is renamed the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation
June 1996: The Liverpool Lung Project (LLP) gets the scientific green light
1997: The Foundation opened its patient information and support office in Glasgow
May 1998: The Roy Castle research centre opens
1999: The charity received funding for the first mobile UK lab to recruit high risk individuals into the LLP
2001- 2012: Involvement in long term proof of concept studies into screening
2007: Successfully campaigned for the implementation of a smoking ban in public places
2012: Charity launches national research grants programme.
January 2017: Charity funds its own lung cancer screening pilot in Nottingham
November 2017: NHS England announces proposed roll out of targeted lung health checks
July 2022: Fiona Castle appears on BBC Breakfast calling for lung cancer screening
September 2022: The National Screening Committee recommends the introduction of targeted lung cancer screening
June 2023: The government announces a national targeted screening programme for lung cancer.
