The NHS Lung Cancer Screening Programme is one of the most significant advances in lung cancer care in a generation. It is finding cancers earlier than ever before. For patients with nodules found on screening, it is also creating a new and pressing question: what now? Dr Lawrence Okiror offers expert private assessment within 2–3 days — and, where needed, access to the most advanced diagnostic and surgical pathway available in London.
Last reviewed: April 2026 · Dr Lawrence Okiror FRCS(CTh) FRCSEd(CTh)
2M+
People invited to screening to date
7,193
Lung cancers diagnosed through the programme
75%+
Screen-detected cancers
found at early stage
<30%
Lung cancers found at early stage
outside of screening
Source: Lee et al., Nature Medicine, 23 March 2026 — Implementation of the NHS England Lung Cancer Screening Programme over 5 years.
The NHS Lung Cancer Screening Programme — delivered through targeted lung health checks — identifies current and former smokers aged 55 to 74 who are at elevated risk of lung cancer, and offers them a low-dose CT scan of the chest. The programme was previously known as the Targeted Lung Health Check Programme before being formally renamed in February 2025.
The health check begins with a risk assessment, usually by telephone. Those found to be at higher risk are invited for a CT scan — typically at a local hospital or mobile scanning unit. Results are usually returned within four weeks.
Around 15 in every 100 people scanned have lung nodules. The vast majority of these are benign — the result of scarring from a previous chest infection or other non-cancerous changes. Around 1 in 100 people scanned are diagnosed with lung cancer. Expert assessment tells you clearly and quickly which category you are in.
The programme is supported by the strongest evidence in cancer screening. The NELSON trial demonstrated that scanning people at higher risk reduced lung cancer mortality by 26% in men and between 39% and 61% in women.
The five-year implementation data published in Nature Medicine in March 2026 confirms that over 75% of cancers diagnosed through the programme are found at Stage I or II — compared to fewer than 30% of lung cancers detected outside of screening.
This is one of the most important shifts in lung cancer outcomes in decades. Lung cancer caught at Stage I is highly treatable. The surgery is less complex, the recovery faster, and the chance of long-term survival dramatically greater. The programme is working. The challenge now is ensuring that everyone it identifies gets rapid, expert care.
After your CT scan, one of three things will have been communicated to you. Each has a very different implication — and a private pathway is available for any of them.
Outcome 1
Your scan showed nothing of concern. You are either discharged or invited back for a repeat scan in two years as part of routine surveillance. This is the most common outcome — most people scanned through the programme receive reassurance.
No action needed. Continue with the programme’s recall schedule.
Outcome 2
A nodule has been identified. It is not immediately suspicious, but you have been placed on a surveillance pathway — typically a repeat CT scan in 3, 6, or 12 months. For many patients, the waiting period between scans is extremely difficult to live with, even when the nodule is almost certainly benign.
Private expert assessment can provide clarity within 2–3 days rather than months away.
Outcome 3
Your scan has identified something that warrants urgent investigation and you have been referred into the NHS lung cancer pathway. NHS thoracic surgical waiting times are under significant pressure from the increased volume generated by the programme.
Private surgical assessment and surgery can be arranged within days rather than months.
The screening programme is unambiguously good news for lung cancer outcomes. But its success has created demands that the current system is working hard to absorb.
01
Around 15 in every 100 people scanned have lung nodules. The majority are benign. But the NHS surveillance pathway typically involves a repeat scan weeks or months later — with no clear answer in the interim. For a patient told they may have something on their lung, the wait is extraordinarily difficult to endure. Anxiety, disrupted sleep, and the inability to plan are well-documented consequences.
Patients deserve a clear, expert answer — not a prolonged period of uncertainty while a calendar date slowly approaches.
02
The screening programme is doing what it was designed to do: finding more lung cancers at an early, operable stage. In 2024 alone, the number of lung cancer resections performed in England rose by over 20% in a single year — from 6,547 operations in 2023 to 7,878 in 2024, driven directly by the screening programme.
The National Lung Cancer Audit 2026 found that 88% of patients with early-stage lung cancer waited longer than the recommended 49 days from referral to surgery. The Royal College of Surgeons has explicitly called for expansion of surgical capacity to keep pace with screening demand.
“This year’s audit shows encouraging progress in catching lung cancer earlier, but it also exposes the stark reality that our current system is struggling to keep pace with rising demand. Without investment in surgical capacity and treatment services, too many people will still face delays that can mean the difference between curative and palliative care.”
Mr Tim Mitchell, President, Royal College of Surgeons of England — responding to NLCA State of the Nation Report 2026“At Guy’s and St Thomas’, the UK’s largest lung cancer centre, we are seeing the direct consequence of the targeted lung health check programme — more patients with screen-detected nodules needing rapid assessment, and more early-stage cancers requiring surgery. Both are the right problems to have. But both need the right infrastructure to manage them well. The private pathway at London Bridge Hospital was built for exactly this.”
Dr Lawrence Okiror — Consultant Thoracic & Robotic Surgeon, Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust & London Bridge Hospital
The National Lung Cancer Audit 2026 publishes nationally comparable performance data for every NHS trust in England. The figures for Guy’s and St Thomas’ — where Dr Okiror is Consultant Thoracic Surgeon — demonstrate consistently better outcomes than the national average across every major indicator.
Patients diagnosed at Stage I or II
40%
58%
NSCLC patients having surgical resection
22%
44%
One-year survival after diagnosis
51%
72%
Curative treatment rate — Stage I–II patients
79%
88%
Diagnosed after emergency presentation
30%
17%
90-day post-operative mortality after lung resection
1.5%
1.2%
Source: National Lung Cancer Audit, State of the Nation Report 2026 (NATCAN). Data for patients diagnosed in England in 2024.
GSTT’s surgical resection rate of 44% — double the national average — reflects a centre that is diagnosing more patients at an operable stage and offering surgery to more of those who are candidates. A one-year survival of 72% against a national figure of 51% reflects the consequence of getting those decisions right. This is the clinical environment that informs every private decision made at London Bridge Hospital.
The pathway at London Bridge Hospital addresses both challenges created by the screening programme — resolving nodule uncertainty quickly for the majority who do not need surgery, and providing rapid access to expert lung cancer surgery for those who do.
Expert scan review at your first appointment
Your CT scan images are reviewed by Dr Okiror personally — not just the written report, but the images themselves. The size, shape, location, and characteristics of the nodule are assessed against your full clinical picture. In many cases, a clear reassurance or a definitive plan is given at this first appointment, within 2–3 days of contacting the clinic. No referral from your GP is needed.
ION robotic bronchoscopy where tissue diagnosis is needed
London Bridge Hospital was the first private provider in Europe to offer ION robotic bronchoscopy in routine clinical practice. A thin, flexible robotic catheter navigates through the airways — no incisions — to reach and biopsy the nodule. It can access nodules across all 18 lung segments, including areas previously unreachable by conventional bronchoscopy. Usually performed as a day case, it provides a tissue diagnosis within days and eliminates months of watchful waiting.
Dye-marking for surgical precision, where surgery follows
Where surgery is confirmed appropriate, the ION system can mark the nodule with a dye visible under infrared light during the robotic procedure. This ensures precise removal of the affected area with the smallest possible margin of surrounding lung tissue, contributing to faster recovery and preserved breathing function.
Da Vinci robotic segmentectomy — lung-preserving surgery
Where surgery is required, robotic segmentectomy removes only the affected segment of the lung — not the entire lobe. Three small incisions. No large chest wound. Most patients are home within 2–3 days. Read more about robotic lung surgery →
Keyhole. No incisions. Reaches nodules across all 18 lung segments. Biopsy and dye-marking in one session, usually as a day case. First available privately in Europe at London Bridge Hospital.
Three small incisions. Only the affected segment removed. Breathing capacity preserved. 80%+ of GSTT lung resections performed robotically — more than double the national average. Most patients home within 2–3 days.
80–90%
Five-year survival
Lung cancer found at Stage I
<10%
Five-year survival
Lung cancer found at Stage IV
The targeted lung health check is finding cancers at Stage I and II — precisely when surgery offers the best chance of cure. But the NLCA 2026 confirms that 88% of patients with early-stage lung cancer wait longer than the recommended 49 days from referral to surgery. The question for each patient identified at this stage is not whether to act — it is how quickly the right operation can be arranged.
The majority of nodules found through the screening programme are benign. However, you deserve a clear, expert answer — not months of watching and waiting. Dr Okiror can review your scan privately within 2–3 days and give you a definitive plan at your first appointment. No GP referral is needed.
Almost certainly not. Around 15 in every 100 people scanned through the programme have nodules, and the vast majority are benign — caused by scarring from a previous chest infection or other non-cancerous changes. Around 1 in 100 people scanned are diagnosed with lung cancer. Expert assessment will tell you clearly and quickly which category you are in.
You are entitled to seek private assessment at any stage. If you have been told you have a nodule and are waiting for a follow-up scan or a respiratory clinic appointment, you can be seen by Dr Okiror privately within 2–3 days at London Bridge Hospital, The Lister Hospital Chelsea, or Canary Wharf outpatients.
The National Lung Cancer Audit 2026 found that 88% of patients with early-stage lung cancer waited longer than the recommended 49 days from referral to surgery. The number of lung cancer operations increased by over 20% in a single year, driven by the screening programme. NHS surgical capacity is under significant pressure. Private surgery at London Bridge Hospital can be arranged without this delay.
ION is a robotic system that navigates through the airways to reach and sample lung nodules without any incisions. London Bridge Hospital was the first private provider in Europe to offer ION in routine clinical practice. For patients with nodules found on screening, it provides a tissue diagnosis within days — eliminating the uncertainty of repeated CT surveillance — and where surgery is needed, it can mark the nodule precisely in the same session.
Most patients referred with a nodule do not need surgery. The purpose of expert assessment is precise risk stratification — distinguishing the small number who need intervention from the majority who can be safely reassured. Where surgery is required, Dr Okiror performs robotic segmentectomy, removing only the affected segment of the lung rather than the entire lobe, preserving as much breathing capacity as possible.
Appointments available within 2–3 days at London Bridge Hospital, The Lister Hospital Chelsea, and Canary Wharf outpatients. No GP referral required. All enquiries handled with complete discretion by Dr Okiror’s personal PA.
Call Grace on 020 7952 2882 · pa@lungsurgeon.co.uk