// BBC HEALTH NEWS — SALUTE
'Screening may have picked up my lung cancer earlier'
Joan McConville started smoking as a student and became addicted
"To the day I die, I will regret putting a cigarette in my mouth".
These are the words of Joan McConville, who was first diagnosed with lung cancer in 2023.
The former teacher believes her cancer may have been caught earlier if screening had been available in Northern Ireland.
Despite growing evidence that early detection can significantly reduce death rates, Northern Ireland has yet to fund a targeted lung cancer screening programme.
Although the Department of Health previously committed to introducing screening by April 2027, it has now confirmed there was "no definitive timeline" for its full implementation because of funding.
Smoking is the biggest risk factor for lung cancer, external, although genetic and environmental factors can also contribute.
McConville, from Banbridge, started smoking at 19 while studying in Belfast and said she became addicted to nicotine.
"It's not that my generation didn't know the dangers of cancer. We did," she said.
"We started smoking because it was trendy. And I enjoyed it."