It’s time to Let Go of the Labels so people are diagnosed sooner.
Labels like smoker and never smoker can distort what’s really going on and deny people the change of an earlier, life saving diagnosis.
If someone has smoked, they can more reluctant to seek help because they feel guilty or ashamed, or presume their symptoms are directly caused by smoking.
If someone used to smoke, they may fail to recognise their ongoing risk of developing lung cancer.
If someone has never smoked, they often face many more visits to their GP or have their symptoms misdiagnosed because they don’t fit the ‘lung cancer stereotype’.
Whatever the label, it can impact on how quickly someone is diagnosed with lung cancer. We need to join together, let go of the labels and save lives.
Lung cancer stories
Liam’s story
Suffering with anxiety for much of his life, when Liam first went to his doctor with chest pain, his GP put his symptoms down to stress and increased his medication. Liam’s parents share his story to try and help others get diagnosed faster.
Nick’s story
Nick had visited his GP on several occasions with various symptoms over an 18-month period. Each time, Nick mentioned his cough and each time he was told it was just a smoker’s cough. Then he coughed up blood…
Alison’s story
Alison wasn’t too concerned by her symptoms. She was feeling tired and was having intermittent chest pains. But her GP was great and sent her for a chest x-ray ‘as a precaution’. That chest x-ray saved her life.
Joe’s story
After a couple of rounds of antibiotics, Joe realised something wasn’t right. He booked another appointment and saw a different GP who immediately sent him for an x-ray. 13 years on and Joe remains cancer-free.
What to do if you have symptoms?
The key to detecting lung cancer early is to work fast and work together. We recognise people can face delays to their diagnosis, but it is everyone’s aim to get people diagnosed as quickly as possible.
To help, we’ve put together this blog so you can get the most out of your appointment and work with your doctor to understand what is causing your symptoms and ease any worries or anxieties you may have.
“As a former GP, I was fully aware of the most common signs of lung cancer – shortness of breath, repeat chest infections and, of course, an ongoing cough. So, when I started to experience back pain, lung cancer never crossed my mind. I just put to down to clearing out the garage.“
Sally, living with stage 4 lung cancer
Campaign achievements
The Let Go of the Labels campaign ran in November 2025. The campaign was a huge success, with a number of key achievements including TV coverage and national events.
13
COMMUNITY EVENTS
Throughout the campaign, we ran awareness events in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, having important and life saving conversations with hundreds of people.
3.9M
REACHED ON FACEBOOK
Nearly 4 million people saw our campaign ads on Facebook, sharing vital messages around symptoms and challenging disease misconceptions.
190
RADIO STATIONS
The campaign was shared on radio stations across the UK, with over 20 hours of airtime to a collective 77million listenership.
300+
MEDIA COVERAGE
The campaign was covered on TV, radio, print and online, including the lead item on Granada Reports
19
STORIES SHARED
Nineteen incredible people shared their experiences of lung cancer as part of the campaign and many were interviewed by the media as well.
18.2K
LITERATURE DISTRIBUTED
Campaign materials including posters, flyers and symptom-based information were sent to supporters and nurses across the UK.
2.5K
PETITION SIGNATURES
Thousands of people showed their commitment to lung cancer by Standing with Us on social media.
50K
PHARMACY BAGS DISTRIBUTED
Promotion of symptoms awareness and disease diversity ran on pharmacy bags in areas with high incidence rates of lung cancer.
This project was supported by grants or sponsorship from J&J Innovative Medicines, Roche UK, Irwin Mitchell and Insurancewith. J&J Innovative Medicines, Roche UK, Irwin Mitchell and Insurancewith have had no editorial input into, or control over, the content in this campaign.
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