Dad, 65, Died Months After Lung Cancer Diagnosis; He Never Smoked

In November, David received a letter saying he was due a lung screening and should call to check his eligibility. He phoned. Staff asked whether he had ever smoked.

"He had never smoked a day in his life," Ellie said. "And so they said, 'okay, you're not eligible, you don't need to do it.'"

A&E in January

At the start of January, David told his wife he was struggling to breathe. Ellie, a student at the University of Liverpool, insisted he go to A&E rather than wait for another appointment.

Doctors found advanced stage four lung cancer. He was given six months to live and died in April.

According to the NHS, symptoms of lung cancer can include chest and shoulder pain as well as breathlessness. Smoking is the leading cause, but second-hand smoke and air pollution can also bring it on, and certain blood conditions can raise the risk.

"We were shocked," Ellie said. "Before this diagnosis, we had that stigma, that misconception that only smokers get lung cancer, when actually that's not the case."

Call for wider screening

Ellie believes the outcome might have been different had her father been offered a screening. She noted that lung cancer is the third most common cancer in the UK.

"If everyone has lungs, why can't everyone be eligible for lung screenings regardless of if you smoked or not?" she said. "People like my dad and families like us are getting missed in the healthcare system."

After his death, Ellie found the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation. The Liverpool-based charity funds lung cancer research, supports early detection and challenges public misconceptions about the disease.

In March 2027, she will run her first half marathon to raise money for it. She is on a placement year in Reading as part of her studies, so she will run in Reading.

"It's the only foundation dedicated exclusively to those affected by lung cancer," Ellie said.