Knutsford lung cancer survivor and non smoker warns of misconceptions

Dave Marcus, from Knutsford, had seen adverts about how a persistent cough could be a sign of lung cancer.

But as someone who had never smoked, he presumed it didn’t apply to him.

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Dave was diagnosed with a chest infection and given antibiotics, but kept coughing.

The cough was so severe that it caused a hernia for which he had surgery, but the cough remained.

He was told that it was severe illness, most likely a chest infection complicated by pneumonia, and he just had to be patient.

“Even by this point, I wasn’t concerned about my cough,” said Dave. “After the hernia operation, the cough had become quite mild.

“I’d cough occasionally through the day and night. It wasn’t aggressive, just persistent.

“If anything, it was more irritating than worrisome. It never felt ominous.

“I think that’s why lung cancer was never in my mind, and why would it be? I hadn’t smoked so why would I get lung cancer?!

“I was fine to ride out whatever this infection was. Thankfully, my partner Emelie wasn’t so patient.”

Dave and partner Emelie (Image: Supplied)

Emelie, who was undergoing treatment for colon cancer at the time, insisted Dave get a second opinion.

Dave spoke to a doctor from his company and his reaction was very different.

Dave said: “This doctor took things much more seriously, especially given the length of time I had had this cough.

“He insisted I see a respiratory consultant. That’s when I got the biggest shock of my life.”

Dave was diagnosed with lung cancer seven months after his cough first started.

His tumour measured 7.8cm, 2mm within the threshold for surgery.

Any bigger and Dave would have been looking at a very different prognosis.

“It’s a sobering thought to think how close things got,” said Dave.

“So much of that is down to the perception of lung cancer – or lack of understanding around this type of cancer.

“I was so focused on the fact that I had never smoked that I, unintentionally, ignored the clearest of warning signs – a persistent cough.

“But I wasn’t alone in this thinking. It wasn’t until I got that second opinion that lung cancer became a possibility.

“It’s definitely time we stop thinking about lung cancer in this way.

“I am proof that it can happen to anyone and catching it early means there’s life after lung cancer.”

Dave enjoying a pint (Image: Supplied)

Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation has launched its Let Go of the Labels campaign for lung cancer awareness month, calling for a stop to terms like smoker and never-smoker.

Paula Chadwick, the charity’s chief executive, said: “Lung cancer is still so intrinsically linked to smoking.

“But the reality is anyone can get this disease, regardless of if they have smoked or not.

“The more people we spoke to, the more we recognised that labels like smoker and non-smoker were having a direct impact on how quickly people were being diagnosed.

“The sooner lung cancer is caught, the more treatment options – including curative treatment – a person has.

“We need to do everything we can to ensure everyone with lung cancer is diagnosed as quickly as possible.

“Labels like ‘smoker’ and ‘never smoker’ can distort what’s really going on and stop people getting diagnosed earlier.

The foundation estimates there are about 48,500 people diagnosed with lung cancer every year in the UK, with about a third of cases unrelated to smoking.

Anyone concerned about symptoms can visit roycastle.org.