Robyn's story

At 64, Robyn felt healthy. She had no symptoms, felt well, and after smoking for around 30 years, she had quit almost a decade earlier. 

Then, during dinner with three close friends, the conversation turned to the new free lung cancer screening scan.  

Two of her friends were former smokers and had already taken part in the screening program. They encouraged Robyn to check whether she was eligible too. 

She was hesitant at first. 

“But my friends said, ‘No, no, no, just do it. It doesn’t cost anything, just do it and check it out.’” 

She listened. After a quick visit to her doctor, Robyn received a referral for a low-dose CT scan. A type of scan that can help find lung cancer early, before symptoms appear.  

Robyn expected little to come of it. Instead, the scan changed everything. 

The scan found nodules on her lungs, and calcification in one of the arteries of her heart. Further tests revealed a 90 per cent heart artery blockage which required a stent. 

“I had no symptoms for my heart or my lungs,” she said. 

Further investigation of her lungs found early-stage lung cancer close to her heart. Because of the cancer’s location, doctor’s recommended surgery to remove it.  

In June, Robyn had part of her upper lung removed.  

“Yes, it was cancer and yes, it’s gone,” she said. Robyn did not need chemotherapy or radiation. 

From her initial screening in April to her operation in June, Robyn describes the experience as a “whirlwind”.  

Without the screening, she says, she may not have known anything was wrong until it was too late.  

The experience has changed the way Robyn thinks about her health and she is now encouraging others with a history of smoking to talk to their doctor about getting the free scan. 

“I thought I was fine,” she said, reflecting on friends who have heard about the screening program but haven't taken the next step. “I just sort of stop and I look at them and say, well, I thought I was okay as well.” 

For Robyn, that is why getting screened matters. It can provide peace of mind or help find something early enough to act. 

“It’s good to know that you don’t have anything,” she says. “And it’s excellent to know that if you do have something, you can do something about it.” 

Most importantly, she wants other eligible people to take the first step and speak with their doctor. 

“I encourage everyone who can to participate. It’s an easy test, it’s not invasive.”  

And when she looks back at that dinner with her three friends, she knows how different things could have been if she had dismissed their advice. 

“My three girlfriends sitting at that dinner table… they saved my life. And this test saved my life.”