'Screening may have picked up my lung cancer earlier'

The 71-year-old said she "was not remotely surprised" by her diagnosis, having smoked for almost 50 years and having a family history of cancer.

After several months of coughing - one of the symptoms of lung cancer, external - she was admitted to Craigavon Area Hospital (CAH) following a "dreadful coughing fit".

A scan to check for a clot revealed a 3cm (1in) lesion in her right lung. While surgery successfully removed the cancer, it returned earlier this year.

McConville initially had scans every six months but said more than a year had passed when she developed pain in the upper right side of her chest.

Initially dismissing it as an injury from gardening or housework, she said the "tiny little niggle" became increasingly severe along with "dreadful" nausea.

The symptoms eventually made it difficult to go into town, walk or visit her grandchildren.

Following another visit to CAH, further scans showed the cancer had returned and spread to her lymph nodes and ribs.

Surgery was no longer an option, but radiotherapy and chemotherapy were recommended.

McConville believes regular screening could have led to earlier treatment and surgery, potentially improving her outcome.

"If my cancer had developed between the ages of 50 and 70, which it did, then there's every possibility that it would have been found earlier," she said.

"I was a smoker. I probably would still have got cancer. If I could have had screening and it could have made a difference to me, that would make me angry."

She said many people underestimate the risks, believing lung cancer happens to others.

She said screening would have brought that message home.

"If it was pointed out at a very early stage to smokers like me, 'Look that tiny little dot is cancer. Stop smoking now and we'll hopefully be able to remove it and then that's it gone'," she added.