{"id":470889,"date":"2026-03-12T05:06:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T05:06:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/470889\/"},"modified":"2026-03-12T05:06:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T05:06:10","slug":"i-did-it-every-day-for-60-years-until-a-routine-gp-appointment-changed-everything","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/470889\/","title":{"rendered":"‘I did it every day for 60 years until a routine GP appointment changed everything’"},"content":{"rendered":"

A retired teacher who smoked every day for more than 60 years says a shock diagnosis finally forced him stop – after doctors warned quitting could save his life.<\/p>\n

Phil Williamson, 76, first picked up cigarettes aged 14 and kept smoking daily for decades until a routine appointment with his doctor ‘changed everything’.<\/p>\n

Tests revealed the grandad had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which occurs when the lungs become inflamed, damaged and narrowed. Then, following a lung cancer screening in Manchester, he received a devastating diagnosis.<\/p>\n

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Phil said: “They sent me for tests and told me I had COPD – chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. When they say you’ve got obstruction in your lungs, it makes you shudder.”<\/p>\n

Phil said the results of the screening, run by Manchester University NHS<\/a> Foundation Trust and the Greater Manchester Cancer Alliance, came back positive – and he started a course of radiotherapy. Doctors also told him that quitting, even after decades of smoking, could still significantly improve his health.<\/p>\n

Phil said: “The doctor said it would really help the whole procedure and my recovery if I could give up smoking. It felt like now or never.”<\/p>\n

He added: “Once I understood that stopping smoking would genuinely still help my health and that I wouldn’t be doing it on my own – it changed everything.”<\/p>\n

He said his biggest motivations on his stop smoking journey are his family, recalling a ‘lovely, cathartic moment’ that got him ‘back on track’ after his diagnosis.<\/p>\n

\"Phil<\/p>\n

Phil and his granddaughter(Image: NHS Greater Manchester)<\/p>\n

Phil said: “I saw my daughter and both granddaughters. The eldest one was five – she discarded her bike and she was giving it everything running on this path in the park sooner to jump into grandad’s arms.<\/p>\n

“And it was just such a beautiful feeling. Nothing like it on earth – and I thought, oh, I want more of this. And that’s what’s given me the momentum.”<\/p>\n

Around 157,000 people in the North West successfully quit smoking in 2025, according to new figures, while separate YouGov polling shows more than half of smokers in Greater Manchester say they want to give up.<\/p>\n

Phil told those wanting to quit: “My message to everyone, and even to myself, is just give it a go. Keep picturing why you’re doing it. For me, it’s my granddaughter. I want as much time as possible to watch her grow up.”<\/p>\n

Smoking remains the single biggest cause of preventable death in Greater Manchester. Dr Rebecca Fletcher, Director of Public Health at Oldham<\/a> Council and Making Smoking History Lead for Greater Manchester Public Health, said: “The good news is that people can and do stop smoking – and it’s never too late to see real health benefits.<\/p>\n

“These latest figures show that many smokers want to stop. National No Smoking Day is a powerful opportunity to take that first step. With free local support, stop smoking aids and expert advice available, you’re up to three times more likely to stop smoking successfully with help than going it alone.<\/p>\n

“Every stop smoking attempt matters. Whether it’s your first try or your fifth, the important thing is to keep going, because you can get there and it will make such a difference.”<\/p>\n

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Smoking is the single biggest cause of preventable death in Greater Manchester(Image: PA)<\/p>\n

Professor Matt Evison, Lung Cancer Consultant, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust and Make Smoking History Clinical Lead said: “As an NHS lung cancer consultant, I witness tobacco’s cruelty daily – lives cut short, families devastated, suffering that is entirely preventable.<\/p>\n

“When patients come through our lung health checks and screening programmes, many tell us they feel it’s ‘too late’ to stop smoking. That simply isn’t true.<\/p>\n

“Stopping smoking at any stage improves lung function, enhances treatment effectiveness and reduces the risk of further disease progression.”<\/p>\n

Alison Jones, Director of Cancer Commissioning and Early Diagnosis at Greater Manchester Cancer Alliance, said: “We see first-hand the devastating impact smoking-related cancers have on individuals and families across our city region.<\/p>\n

“But we also know that stopping smoking is one of the most important things someone can do to reduce their cancer risk – even after many years of smoking. It improves treatment outcomes, reduces complications and supports recovery.<\/p>\n

“That’s why we’re committed to ensuring that every patient who smokes is offered advice and support to stop. It is never too late to benefit.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A retired teacher who smoked every day for more than 60 years says a shock diagnosis finally forced…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":470890,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[59,102,104,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-470889","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-gb","tag-health","tag-nhs","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/470889","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=470889"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/470889\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/470890"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=470889"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=470889"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=470889"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}