⏺ GET CHECKED! 2026

Both sides of lung cancer diagnosis

This year’s focus: primary care

GET CHECKED! EVERY YEAR

Lung cancer doesn't always look how you'd expect

The signs can be vague, easy to miss, or brushed off as something else. Get Checked! is Lung Cancer Europe's annual lung cancer awareness campaign, now in its sixth year. It helps people across Europe recognise when something isn't right and act on it.

Every year, we look closely at one part of the lung cancer experience, together with the people living it and the professionals who care for them.

what to look out for

THIS YEAR

Both sides of the door

In 2026, we are focusing on what happens between people and primary care.

LIVED EXPERIENCE

"I was 26. I never imagined someone so young, with no history of smoking, could have lung cancer."

Rasika, diagnosed with lung cancer at 26 · Read Rasika's story

This year's campaign is built around real experiences from both sides of the door: people who have lived with lung cancer symptoms and found their way to a diagnosis, and the healthcare professionals, from primary care onwards, who see those conversations from the other side.

They tell us what symptoms actually feel like day to day. What makes people hesitate. What an early appointment is really like. And what it looks like when a clinician is trying to act on something that is not yet clear.

Together, their stories help us understand why earlier lung cancer diagnosis is not always straightforward, and what it would take to change that.

HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONAL

"I knew something wasn't right. Sometimes, you must listen to that little alarm bell."

Vee Rayson, Lung Cancer Clinical Nurse Specialist · Read Vee and Paul's story

From first symptom to diagnosis

Five stages, each told from both sides.

Lung cancer symptoms can include a persistent cough, breathlessness, fatigue that won’t go away, chest or shoulder pain, and unexplained weight loss. If these symptoms last more than a few weeks, it’s time to get checked. Find out more on here.
Yes. Lung cancer can affect anyone – including people who have never smoked. In fact, rates are rising among women and younger people with no smoking history. If you have lungs, you can get lung cancer.

Worried about a symptom?

Lung cancer can affect anyone. If something has changed and is not getting better, speak to a doctor.

Get Checked! is Lung Cancer Europe’s awareness campaign. Now in its sixth year, it aims to raise awareness of lung cancer symptoms, improve early diagnosis, and challenge outdated assumptions about who is a
This year's campaign focuses on primary care - the first point of contact between people and the healthcare system when symptoms appear.
We are exploring that space from both sides: what it is like to notice symptoms and navigate the path to diagnosis, and what it looks like from the other side of the desk. The campaign is not about educating clinicians. It is about telling an honest, human story about why earlier lung cancer diagnosis is not always straightforward and why it matters.

“Earlier diagnosis is not about blaming people for waiting or healthcare professionals for missing something. It is about understanding what happens on both sides of the consultation, and what would help those conversations go differently.”

Angeliki Souri, Vice President
Lung Cancer Europe

4 in 10 people diagnosed with lung cancer waited over a month to contact a doctor after symptoms began. Source: Lung Cancer Europe, 7th Report (2022).

For member organisations

Share the campaign in your own language. Download the 2026 posts, captions and editable templates.

campaign resources

6 years of Get Checked!

Since 2021, Lung Cancer Europe’s Get Checked! campaign has been helping people across Europe recognise the signs of lung cancer and take action early.

Each year, we’ve focused on something new: