“Combining lung health checks with stop smoking support is so important” Sue’s experience

Sue O’Shea has enjoyed many roles in healthcare, mainly working for the NHS, but for her, helping people quit smoking is the most rewarding.

Sue started her role as a Stop Smoking Advisor at Leeds NHS Teaching Hospitals Trust in November 2018, working as part of the Yorkshire Stop Smoking Study, a research project funded by Yorkshire Cancer Research which ran until the beginning of this year. During this time, Sue provided specialist stop smoking support to over 900 people, achieving a remarkable 90% success rate of quits over the last 3 months and on many other occasions.

The Yorkshire Stop Smoking Study, led by researchers at the University of Nottingham and the University of Leeds, aimed to show that combining lung health checks with stop-smoking support is an effective way of helping people to stop smoking. 

The project worked alongside the Leeds Lung Health Check, a pioneering lung cancer screening trial funded by Yorkshire Cancer Research. The trial involved a mobile screening unit visiting convenient community locations across Leeds where people at higher risk of lung cancer and other smoking-related illnesses were invited to attend for a CT scan. 

Following a CT scan of their chest, participants were offered a 30-minute appointment with a Stop Smoking Advisor like Sue to discuss the benefits of quitting smoking and the various treatments available to them.

Sue said: “A lot of people didn’t intend to quit smoking when they first came in for their CT scan, but we offered a unique, non-judgemental and friendly service, so that’s why so many people chose to give it a go. We worked with the individual to decide what was achievable and how best to alter their smoking patterns and ultimately encouraged and motivated them to quit for good.” 

“Combining lung health checks with stop smoking support is so important because people can access free and convenient support right there and then.” 

A key part of the Yorkshire Stop Smoking Study was testing whether people can be encouraged to stop smoking by giving them pictures from their own CT scans showing heart and lung damage that may have been caused by their smoking.

While smoking rates in Yorkshire are steadily decreasing, half a million people still smoke in the region. At least 70 chemicals in tobacco smoke cause cancer and can lead to at least 15 different types of cancer. Every week in Yorkshire, 90 people are diagnosed with a cancer caused by smoking and sadly, 60 people in the region lose their lives.

Sue explained: “The health benefits start almost immediately after you stop smoking as your heart rate and blood pressure drop, regardless of how many years someone has smoked! Within two days of stopping smoking, a person’s carbon monoxide levels will reduce to the same level as someone who has never smoked and will stay at this level as long as they don’t smoke.” 

Sue continued: “Quitting smoking changes all aspects of someone’s life. Many people report how much easier it is to walk up the stairs or pop to the shop without feeling breathless. I was touched to hear from someone that his grandchildren were hugging him more now that he no longer smelt of smoke.”

The Yorkshire Stop Smoking Study came to an end in early January, shortly before the Leeds Lung Health Check was handed over to the NHS as part of the roll-out of mobile lung screening across the region. In total, the study saw over 2,200 people receiving stop smoking support alongside their scan, with over 900 people reporting to have successfully quit. 

Sue said: “Stop smoking support was such a crucial element of the lung health check. We were not only detecting cancers and other serious health problems early so they could be treated quicker but helping to prevent people from getting them in the future.”

Yorkshire Cancer Research is committed to helping prevent smoking-related cancers in Yorkshire. The charity has funded £2.7 million of stop smoking services in the region and has overall helped more than 5,000 people successfully quit smoking.