Your GP will ask you questions about your symptoms and your lifestyle – for example, whether you have smoked, and what type of work you have done. S/he will look at your medical history to see what illnesses you have had.

S/he may then send you for a chest X-ray to get more information, or – depending on your symptoms – s/he may send you straight to see a specialist doctor at a nearby hospital. There are NHS cancer referral guidelines to help GPs decide who needs to see a specialist, and how quickly.

Here are some of the tests you may have:

Chest X-ray
This lets your doctor see whether there is a shadow on the lung. If there is, the doctor will want to arrange some more tests to find out what it is.

Bronchoscopy
The doctor puts a thin, flexible instrument (a bronchoscope) through the nose or mouth and down into the lungs. S/he can then look for anything unusual, and take small samples of tissue (biopsies) to be examined under a microscope.

Lung biopsy
Sometimes a bronchoscope can't reach the suspected cancer. To get a sample of cells the doctor may need to put a very fine needle through the skin and into the lung. S/he can then draw up some cells into a syringe. You have a local anaesthetic first.

Computerised tomography (CT or CAT scan)
This is a type of X-ray that creates pictures of the inside of the body. You lie on a couch while it passes through a large hollow ring. Doctors use the scan to see whether the cancer has spread. About six out of ten patients have this scan.

Blood test
A sample of blood will give the doctor information about your general state of health, for example how well your liver and kidneys are working.

Related links
NHS cancer referral guidelines
Bronchoscopy - general
Lung biopsy - general
CT scan - general