SIR Alex Ferguson has urged Scots with a persistent cough to see their GP sooner rather than later as part of a bid to increase early detection rates for lung cancer.
Sir Alex, who lost both his parents to the disease, stressed the importance of not ignoring a persistent cough which has not cleared after three weeks.
A campaign featuring the former Manchester United manager has already resulted in more people saying they would be less likely to delay a visit to the GP if they were concerned about lung cancer.
The number of over-55s who disagreed strongly that they "would feel silly going to the doctor" with small changes that they feared could be lung cancer increased to 36 per cent.
Meanwhile, almost two-fifths of the target audience (39 per cent) said they were less likely to put off visiting their doctor if they had a possible symptom of the disease, an increase of six per cent.
Lung cancer survival rates are significantly increased if the disease is detected at an early stage, with the five-year survival rates for when it is detected at stage one or two almost 20 times better than for those whose disease has progressed to stage four by the time it is diagnosed.
Sir Alex said: "Everyone should be aware of the signs of lung cancer. If you or someone you know has a cough that won't clear up, don't ignore it. With higher survival rates for people who seek help at an earlier stage, it's worthwhile raising it with your GP sooner rather than later."
Glasgow-based GP Dr Douglas Rigg also backed the campaign, saying: "If you have a cough for three weeks or more, your GP wants to see you. For most people it isn't a serious problem, but it does need to be checked because a long lasting cough can be a sign of lung cancer. The earlier lung cancer is found, the easier it is to treat."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article