Man with no symptoms told he has deadly disease after receiving random letter to go to screening

After losing his mum, uncle, grandfather and great-grandfather to lung cancer, it was Jeff Smith's worst nightmare come true when he was told he too had the disease. With no symptoms, he answered a letter through the post from the NHS for any Salford residents wanting to take part in a mass screening.

Jeff went along to it the same day the letter arrived in the post after a cancellation. But when doctors called him 24 hours later, he was shocked to find out that he had a 9mm growth, having previously had no idea that a deadly disease had taken root in his body.

He says getting the diagnosis was one of the most frightening moments in his life but after a few weeks of tests, Jeff was given miraculous news. The cancer had been caught early enough that he could get 'cure' surgery.

READ MORE: More than half a million people now on NHS waiting lists in Greater Manchester

Jeff, from Swinton, was diagnosed in June of last year on his mum's birthday, who tragically died from lung cancer in 2006. "It was a shock and it was scary, I couldn't take it at first" he told the Manchester Evening News .

"The next thing I heard was that it was good news because the doctors had caught it early and I could have curative surgery .A few days later, I went into hospital, had keyhole surgery and the next day was back home! I couldn’t believe it.

"They cut one-third of my lung away and I spent six weeks at home recovering. My mum was told she had lung cancer and had six weeks to live."

Knowing the importance of early detection, the dad-of-one and granddad-of-three has teamed up with the NHS and the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation to promote conversation around local people with the hopes of breaking the stigma around the disease and saving