Gordon’s lung health check story

Gordon didn’t have any symptoms when he was invited for a lung health check. In fact, he felt the best he had for years. This didn’t stop him from attending the check up; a decision that may have saved his life.

Gordon was diagnosed with stage one lung cancer on Christmas Eve 2021. Fortunately, it had been caught very early and Gordon had keyhole surgery to remove the tumour. He did not need any further treatment and is now fully recovered.

“I thought someone had made a mistake when I received my diagnosis because I felt so well at the time,” Gordon explains.

“I couldn’t understand how I could have lung cancer and not feel ill, or have any symptoms. I only went for the check in the first place because I received a letter and thought that there must be a reason why they are inviting me. Turns out they were right!

When I received my diagnosis, I was told that there are four stages of lung cancer. I was stage one, and the earliest stage of stage one. That relaxed me immediately. When it comes to cancer, it doesn’t get any better than that!

“I was able to have keyhole surgery because it had been caught so early and I didn’t need any further treatment.

“Eight weeks after surgery, I went on holiday to Spain. It was like it never happened, and that was because I played my part and went for that check up. It would have been really easy to not bother because I felt so well but it’s worth taking an hour out to do it. You’re not going to lose anything by being right, but if there is something wrong, you need to find out as quickly as possible. It’s not going away and you’ve got to deal with it.”