NOVEMBER marks Lung Cancer Awareness Month and with around 43,500 people diagnosed with the disease each year, it is the UK’s second-most diagnosed cancer.

Macmillan wants to ensure that no one has to face cancer alone and its services across Worcestershire provide practical, medical, emotional and financial support to people affected by the disease.

Constantly improving the quality of cancer and palliative care services across the country are Macmillan GP Facilitators. Working with local healthcare professionals to raise the standards of cancer care, they assess services that are already in place and identify any areas that could be improved.

Dr Elizabeth Seakins is a Macmillan GP Facilitator in Worcestershire and helps promote the early and timely diagnosis of cancer.

“I work with GPs to raise awareness of cancer and look at how people are referred for further tests in hospitals, which is called secondary care. In October we got a group of GPs in south Worcestershire together to look at the changes to recommendations about recognising suspected cancer. A lively discussion ensued.

“We handed out copies of the Macmillan referral toolkit for GPs and advocates from other charities also came along to talk about the support they could give to people living with cancer, such as Walking for Health.”

Elizabeth also sits on the Worcestershire Acute Trust Cancer Board, where she helps to put across the point of view of the GP when it comes to cancer care, and works closely with the Macmillan services across the county.

“The people behind the Macmillan services and partnerships in Worcestershire try to meet regularly to make sure we’re supporting people affected by cancer locally as well as we can. This includes the information and support centres, the welfare rights advisers and hospice team members - to name but a few.

“The best part of my job is helping my fellow GPs to understand things better and it is rewarding when they say they now know things they didn’t know before. I’ve had other roles working with GPs to better understand cancer care and think this is an important part of our work, so I’m really pleased to be part of Macmillan and to be able to continue this work.”

Elizabeth added: “The new two-week wait guidelines for lung cancer referral mean more people will be referred for tests. The good news is that the majority of people referred will not have lung cancer but this should lead to earlier diagnosis and treatment for the few that do.”

Macmillan believes no one should face cancer alone. For support, information or if you just want a chat, call Macmillan free on 0808 808 00 00 (Monday to Friday, 9am-8pm) or visit macmillan.org.uk

The possible lung cancer signs and symptoms are:

? a cough for three weeks or more

? a change in a cough that you’ve had for a long time

? a chest infection that doesn’t get better, or repeated chest infections

? feeling breathless and wheezy for no reason

? coughing up blood

? chest or shoulder pain that doesn’t get better

? a hoarse voice for three weeks or more.