A LAMPETER athlete has helped launch a national campaign to alert people over 50 to the symptoms of lung cancer.

Keen athlete Jane Holmes, who competes for the Sarn Helen club and has never smoked in her life, was diagnosed with the disease in June 2014 and knows how important early diagnosis and treatment can be.

Speaking at the launch of the NHS Wales campaign, she said: “I was living a healthy lifestyle, running regularly, eating well and didn’t smoke.

“The first symptom I developed was a sharp pain in my nose – a bit like breathing in cold air.

“I decided to go to my local GP and he referred me to the hospital for a chest X-ray. As you can imagine, the last thing on my mind was lung cancer and the diagnosis and prognosis came as a complete shock to me as well as my friends and family.

“I went on to have surgery, it was quite a scary process, but I am very grateful I had it done as I’ve had clear scans ever since.”

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