Rugby restaurant owner ties the knot after getting all clear following early lung cancer diagnosis

When Shirley Gale was invited for a routine lung screening scan, she had no reason to think anything was wrong.

Now, after early detection led to successful surgery, she is cancer-free and she tied the knot with her partner, Neil Warwick, on September 13.

Shirley, who had not smoked for 26 years but previously had 20 cigarettes a day, was invited for screening after honestly sharing her smoking history plus details about possible asbestos exposure from renovating old properties and asthma.

A second appointment with the lung cancer screening team from University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW) NHS Trust found a small lung nodule which was monitored over time.

At a follow-up scan on Christmas Eve 2025, the nodule had grown to around 2.5cm.

Although Shirley had no symptoms, the change prompted further tests. A PET scan showed no evidence that the cancer had spread.

Shirley was offered the option of a biopsy or surgery to remove the area directly – and she chose surgery.

The operation removed around 60 per cent of the upper-left lobe of her lung, and the tumour was confirmed as malignant – but as it had been removed completely and Shirley did not need any further treatment.

“I can’t thank the team enough,” said Shirley, who has owned La Casa Loco restaurant in Rugby for 34 years.

“From the nurses who first contacted me to the lung team and the surgeons, everyone was brilliant. I felt listened to, cared for and reassured all the way through.”

The experience has been life-changing for Shirley and Neil, who decided not to put off their wedding any longer.

“Going through this makes you realise what matters, it was a wake-up call.” added Shirley.

“It was a life-affirming moment. My partner and I have been together seven-and-a-half years and we’d been pushing getting married down the line.

“But you realise life is not a rehearsal; in a way I found it an empowering experience.”

Shirley is now encouraging anyone invited for lung screening to attend and to answer the risk questions honestly, particularly about smoking history.

“There is nothing to lose and everything to gain,” she said. “The best news is they do not find anything, but if they do then it’s best to know and start treatment early when it has a higher chance of success.”

The targeted lung screening programme expanded earlier this year from Coventry, Nuneaton, Bedworth and Rugby into south Warwickshire, starting in Stratford, with further areas to follow.

For more information about lung cancer screening, go to: https://www.happyhealthylives.uk/services-programmes/cancer-services/screening/lung-cancer-screening/