Littleborough cancer campaigner's plea to end tobacco death toll

Date published: 27 August 2023

A Littleborough cancer campaigner who smoked from the age of 11 and survived lung cancer is issuing a rallying cry for people to help end the number one cause of death in the North West - smoking.

The call from Sue Scott, who was smoking 40 cigarettes a day when she was diagnosed with lung cancer, comes as the latest analysis by Cancer Research UK estimates that tobacco causes the death of one person in the North West every 40 minutes.

Smoking is linked to at least 15 different types of cancer - including lung and bowel cancer – and is estimated to be responsible for around 7,300 cancer deaths in the region each year. That’s around a third of all cancer deaths in the North West.

Sue experienced first-hand the devastating impact of smoking having faced a lung cancer diagnosis just as she was looking forward to retirement and looking after her baby grandson.

The self-confessed workaholic simply thought she was suffering from exhaustion from her busy job running a community hub. As the funding for the project was coming to an end in the spring of 2019, she made the decision to stop work.

But during the very first week of Sue’s retirement when she was turning her hand to DIY and caring for her one year-old grandchild Jevonte, Sue began to feel light-headed and dizzy and also experienced stabbing pains in her back.

The grandmother-of-three, who had felt in good health for most of her life, just assumed she had pulled a muscle and possibly had a viral infection.

But when the symptoms continued and she still felt exhausted, she saw her GP who booked her in for blood tests, a test for COPD and a chest x-ray.

Fortunately, Sue was with her daughter Emma when the results came back and the GP told her she had an abnormality on her lung.

On 1 May 2019, Sue, who was aged 58 at the time, was given the devastating news that she had stage three lung cancer and that without treatment she could have 12 months to live.

She immediately vowed to stop smoking and received help from a smoking cessation service in Rochdale which provided her with nicotine patches and support.

Sue was told she needed a full lung removal, but that if the water on her lungs showed any trace of cancer once she was opened up, then the surgery wouldn’t go ahead and she would need to prepare for palliative treatment. So, as Sue was wheeled to the operating theatre, she had no idea what the future held.

The surgery at Wythenshawe Hospital went well and Sue made a good recovery. She had four rounds of chemotherapy treatment following the surgery.

By October the same year Sue was gobsmacked to be told she was cancer free. She feels very lucky to be alive and classes herself a “walking miracle.”

Jevonte, the grandson she thought she would never see grow up, is now aged five. And she is also very close to her granddaughters, Lanelle, 15, and 12-year-old Chantae.

The 63-year-old said: “When I was told I had lung cancer all I could think about was never, ever smoking again and that I was determined to survive to see my grandson’s second birthday.

“It was a hellish time for my family who were all so worried, but I concentrated on getting through the treatment and the end goal. I owe my life to my surgeon Mr Fontaine and my oncologist Dr Califano. I still get breathless now only having one lung, but I am just so glad to be alive and enjoying life.”

Sue is sharing her story to encourage people in the North West to sign an online Cancer Research UK petition – as part of its Smokefree UK campaign - which calls on the Government for more support to help people quit smoking.

The charity is urging the Prime Minister to set up a ‘Smokefree Fund’ to pay for vital interventions, like stop smoking services and public health campaigns, and says the tobacco industry should be made to foot the bill for the damage it causes – not taxpayers.

Sue continued: “People are paying with their lives for the current lack of funding and support to quit smoking and it’s got to stop. That’s why I’m backing this vitally important campaign and hope I can inspire others to do the same. We must do what we can to protect the next generation from a future of ill-health and disease by stubbing out smoking for good.”

In the North West, around 14.4 per cent of people still smoke which is above the England average.

The Government has set a target for England to be ‘smokefree’ by 2030 - defined as less than five per cent of the adult population smoking. However, they are not on track to meet this ambition and Cancer Research UK estimates that smoking rates need to drop a staggering 70 per cent faster than currently projected for this to happen.

Cancer Research UK spokesperson for the North West, Jane Bullock, said: “The figures are shocking, and we can’t help watching the clock. For every day the Government fails to act hundreds of lives will be needlessly lost across the country.

“Smoke-filled pubs, colourful cigarette packets and cigarette vending machines are all now things of the past. But from Sue’s experience, it’s clear the distressing toll of tobacco is not - so we’re grateful to her for rallying people across the North West to help make smoking history.

“Many of us know friends and family whose lives are at risk, or have lost loved ones to smoking, so we hope that as many supporters as possible will sign our vital petition to the Prime Minister. In a world without cancers caused by smoking, we can make more moments that matter and help people live longer, healthier lives, free from the fear of this devastating disease.”

Sign Cancer Research UK’s Smokefree UK petition at cruk.org/signpetition