The NHS is encouraging people who have had a cough lasting three weeks or more to contact their GP practice

While a cough for three weeks or more is probably nothing to worry about, it could be a sign of something serious like lung cancer. If you have had a cough that hasn’t gone away, it is important to go and see your GP.

Dr Murugesan Raja is a local GP and Associate Medical Director for the NHS in Manchester. He said: “Your GP really wants to hear from you if you have a cough that lasts more than three weeks.

"Other symptoms to look out for include finding it hard to breathe, unexplained weight loss, regular chest infections, and feeling more tired than usual.

"Being a smoker or an ex-smoker also raises your risk of developing lung cancer significantly.

"So, if you or someone you know develops any of the symptoms above, please contact your GP practice.”

A leading cause of cancer
More than one in four cancer deaths in the UK are caused by smoking. It is a leading cause of lung cancer, but it is also a cause of 15 other cancers including the mouth, nose, throat, stomach, kidney, bowel, liver, pancreas, ureter, cervix, bladder and ovaries as well as myeloid leukaemia.

Whether it’s cigarettes, roll ups or shisha, the smoke you breathe contains more than 5,000 chemicals, many of which are known to cause cancer such as arsenic and radioactive polonium 210. These chemicals enter your lungs and spread through your whole body.

It is important to quit for not only yourself, but the people around you. Passive smoking is harmful to others as they inhale second hand smoke. It can cause cancer in their bodies even though they are not smokers themselves.

While there are many other causes of cancer and treatment for the disease has improved enormously, the fact remains that if you smoke, you greatly increase your chances of cancer developing.

So, if you or someone you know has a cough which hasn’t gone away after three weeks or are worried you have another symptom, please contact your GP.

If it is cancer, finding it early means it is more treatable and can save your life. Your NHS is here and wants to see you; 'Help Us, Help You'.

READ ORIGINAL ARTICLE