Lisa Riley: 'New Leeds centre will be cancer powerhouse of the North'

It found nearly half (49 per cent) of people surveyed didn’t know that those who have never smoked can still develop the disease, and among people who had experienced symptoms that could indicate lung cancer, 57 per cent admitted they had delayed seeking medical advice.

For Lisa, the campaign is deeply personal. Back in 2002, her grandmother Pat initially dismissed her cough as ‘just a smokers’ cough’, and delayed seeking help until it was too late. Lisa also lost Leah to the disease in 2019, aged just 55 – she was diagnosed with lung cancer despite having never smoked. Leah who was a trained yoga teacher as well as a successful TV actress, experienced breathlessness which became so severe that she found it difficult to use the stairs. Her symptoms developed quickly.

Lisa, who starred in Three Girls, a BBC drama based on the true stories of victims of grooming and sexual abuse in Rochdale, says: “Lung cancer has taken away two very special women in my life. Watching my grandmother’s rapid deterioration from her diagnosis to her passing away was an extremely challenging time for me.

"Leah was one of the healthiest people I knew. I remember the whole cast and I being totally shell shocked when we heard the news that she had lung cancer...It was such an eye opener that lung cancer really can affect anyone. That’s why this campaign is so important — we all need to be aware of the signs and symptoms and be aware lung cancer is a disease that can affect anyone.”

Lung cancer, the symptoms of which include a persistent cough, unexplained breathlessness, chest pain, coughing up blood, unexplained weight loss or ongoing fatigue, is the most common cause of cancer death in the UK. Lisa, who has been on screens in Emmerdale for over 30 years, says: “I don’t just want to help one person, I want to help loads. I want to be heard with this campaign, it’s an important one.”

Lisa is supporting the campaign alongside the launch of a new Lung Cancer Rapid Response Pathway which will be available at a new GenesisCare specialist cancer centre launching in Leeds early next year.

The private healthcare facility will bring together specialist assessment, advanced imaging, diagnostics, and rapid reporting and treatment planning for insured and self-funding patients in the North of England and Scotland.

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Once the centre is up and running, it will feature a patient garden with a sculpture that has been created around the experiences and ideas of people, like Lisa, affected by lung cancer, who contributed their thoughts on materials, plants and themes.

For Lisa, one of the most personal elements is lavender — her grandmother’s favourite plant. “The sculpture was inspired by new research showing that people really recognise the power of nature as part of an evidence-based approach to cancer,” she says. “I can relate to this so much because my grandma got so much pleasure and comfort from her hospital’s garden.”

Patients will also have access to a wider wellbeing programme, including nutritional support, exercise medicine, prehabilitation and smoking cessation support, alongside specialist cancer treatment.

Dr Kevin Franks, a Consultant Clinical Oncologist at GenesisCare, who also works at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, says there are also ambitions for future research trials at the centre.

He says: “The new centre will give people with lung cancer greater certainty, faster decisions and earlier access to the treatment that is right for them”, adding: “With lung cancer, rapid diagnosis can make a difference in terms of outcomes.”

“When you’re facing a lung cancer diagnosis, every day matters,” agrees Lisa. “The new lung cancer diagnostics service will be a real cancer powerhouse of the North.”

- To find out more, visit genesiscare.com/uk/leeds-centre-launch