Stoke-on-Trent couple urge uptake of screening services

A Stoke-on-Trent couple are urging people to take up the offer of cancer screening services provided by University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust (UHNM) after they were diagnosed with cancer within four months of each other.

Former UHNM healthcare assistant Kath Dean and her husband Michael, a former West Midlands Ambulance Service driver, were diagnosed with lung and bowel cancer after cancer screening at UHNM detected abnormalities.

Michael received his bowel screening test through his letterbox in August 2021. After sending the kit back, he was invited to attend a further test where a 2.5cm tumour was found in his bowel.

He said: “I had no symptoms. No blood in my poo or change of bowel habits, so it was a complete shock to hear the nurse say I had bowel cancer. That’s the importance of taking up your screening.”

While Michael was being treated for his bowel cancer, Kath was invited to attend a lung health check due to her smoking history. After the appointment from the UHNM Targeted Lung Health Check team, she was invited to attend a CT scan of her chest as part of the lung screening process. A suspicious area was seen and surgery was booked.

Kath said: “When I went down to theatre I thought, I’m wasting their time as I don’t have any symptoms. However, the lung team told me I had an aggressive cancer and if I had not attended my screening I would have been dead in three months.”

The couple received treatment and have been given the all clear. They are encouraging anyone who is asked to come for a screening to do so, so they too could potentially be diagnosed and treated before it is too late.

Picture: Michael and Kath Dean were diagnosed with cancer within four months of each other.

Published on page 13 of the March 2023 issue of RAD Magazine.