Lung cancer has still not recovered from the pandemic.

A big part of the problem is early symptoms of lung cancer are subtle and easy to ignore, or dismiss as something else at the best of times. With the pandemic, people are even less inclined to bother their GP with seemingly minor symptoms.

This has prompted us to launch our Spot the Difference campaign and we need your support to help as many people as possible.

By making a donation to the campaign, you are:

Helping people recognise any subtle changes in their health that are unusual for them

Encouraging and reassuring them to take action

Saving lives like Ruthra, Bill and Pat.

Ruthra initially put her recurrent chest infections down to her son bringing bugs back from nursery. However, when she coughed up blood, she went back to her GP and asked to see a respiratory consultant. That decision may have saved her life.

Bill was terrified to go to the doctors about his cough and wheeze. He knew his years of smoking wasnt good for him and lung cancer was at the back of his mind. But he faced his fear and is now over 20 years cancer free.

Pat was reluctant to go to her doctor. Her initial symptom was fatigue, and it just didnt feel serious enough to bother the GP. However, she went and in doing so took her first step towards that early, life saving diagnosis.

Where are the missing lung cancer patients?

The pandemic has denied so many the same chance as Ruthra, Bill and Pat. At the peak of the pandemic, lung cancer referral rates were down 75% and still remain way below expected levels over a year later. There are thousands of missing lung cancer patients. Some, sadly, will have already died. Others, though, still have the chance of diagnosis and treatment, but we have to help them.

We have to help them know what the symptoms are . We have to help them feel able to go to their doctor. We have to give them the information and tools they need to be referred as quickly as possible. We have to support them as they make their way through diagnosis and treatment.

Every fortnight, the Spot the Difference campaign will focus on one of the many symptoms of lung cancer and encourage those with it to go to their doctor.

But this is no easy feat. Lung cancer can affect anyone and were here to support them all there is no difference for us but this means we need you to donate to help us spread these vital messages to as many people as possible.

Plus, in addition to raising awareness amongst the general public, the campaign also includes activity aimed specifically at primary care and GPs. Too often, we hear of people going to the doctor with symptoms but still face delays to diagnosis. Our Spot the Difference toolkit for GPs aims to help them spot potential lung cancer symptoms and encourage faster referrals and diagnoses.

Within this important toolkit, we feature Nick and Joanna, both of whom experienced symptoms for many months. Nick was fortunate, he was still diagnosed early enough for curative treatment. Sadly, Joanna was diagnosed with incurable lung cancer.

There is still so much we need to do to raise awareness about lung cancer and the pandemic continues to place further obstacles in our path. But together, we will succeed.