Sir Alex Ferguson joins celebrity effort to help people spot lung cancer early

SIR Alex Ferguson, who lost both his parents to lung cancer, is backing a campaign to boost awareness of the early signs of the devastating disease.

• Sir Alex Ferguson lost both his parents to lung cancer, 'a truly devastating disease' Picture: Getty

The Scottish football manager watched his mother and father succumb to lung cancer when they were in their 60s.

He has now joined other celebrities, including comedian Ricky Gervais, to help educate people about the early symptoms of the disease, which claims 35,000 lives in the UK each year.

About 4,000 deaths occur in Scotland, which has the highest rates of lung cancer in the UK.

The Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation said early diagnosis could help save more lives.

Manchester United manager Sir Alex said: "My father was 66 when he died and my mother was only 64.

• Lung cancer: What to watch out for

"Dad was diagnosed with lung cancer only a week after he retired and within 12 months it had killed him. Then my Mum, who had smoked all her life, was diagnosed with lung cancer as well and she passed away a few years after my Dad.

"Anyone who has experienced lung cancer knows what a truly devastating disease it is and having lost both my parents to it, I sadly know better than most."

Comic Gervais, whose mother Eva died from lung cancer in 2001, also spoke movingly about his personal experiences of the disease.

"It's devastating when you see someone you love dying from lung cancer. It's a horrible, horrible disease," he said.

"By the time most people are diagnosed, it is far too late for treatment and seven out of ten people will die within a year of diagnosis.

"My mother's death was very sudden and you can't help wondering if things would have been different had it been spotted earlier.

"So even though it's winter and even if you're a smoker, if you've had a bad cough for two to three weeks and you can't get rid of it, make an appointment with your GP today."

Other celebrities taking part in the campaign, which will run through November which is Lung Cancer Awareness Month, include football legend Bruce Grobbelaar, British Olympic rowing stars Pete Reed and Katherine Grainger, and Hollyoaks actor Emmett Scanlan.

Dr Rosemary Gillespie, chief executive of the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation, said: "Early diagnosis of lung cancer can help to save lives, but this is only possible if people are educated about what signs and symptoms they need to be looking out for.

"Lung cancer is known as the invisible, or forgotten disease, but it is a stark reality for the 39,750 new patients who are diagnosed in the UK every year.

"Despite this, only 5 per cent of cancer research funding from government and charities goes towards lung cancer, and the chance of surviving the disease has barely changed since the 1970s."