'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.