18/02/2021
• If you’ve had a cough for three weeks or more, and it isn’t COVID-19, it could still be a warning sign
• A cough for three weeks or more could be a sign of cancer. Just contact your GP practice
• It’s probably nothing serious, but finding cancer early makes it more treatable
• If a friend or family member has been coughing for three weeks or more, and it isn’t COVID-19, encourage them to contact their GP practice
• In addition to the symptom of a cough for three weeks or more, other symptoms of lung cancer include:
- Chest infections that keep coming back
- Coughing up blood
- A long-standing cough that gets worse
- An ache or pain when breathing or coughing
- Persistent breathlessness
- Persistent tiredness or lack of energy
- Loss of appetite or unexplained weight loss
• Early diagnosis and treatment of cancer can save lives
NHS staff are working to ensure that, wherever possible, cancer treatment can continue safely. This includes re-establishing COVID-secure cancer hubs and consolidating cancer surgery, prioritising people for surgery centrally based on clinical need and drawing on the independent sector to increase capacity. Between March and December 2020, nearly 1.7 million people were urgently referred by their GP with suspected cancer and over 228,000 people started treatment for cancer - 95% within 31 days.
• Your NHS is here to see you, safely