Engine Creative and Rankin raise awareness of lung cancer in never-smokers motivated by their personal stories

ENGINE Creative has come together with photographer Rankin, production house TAG and media agency Wavemaker to create the 'See through the symptoms' campaign to raise awareness of the signs of lung cancer that are often missed. The goal is to improve the outlook for patients by promoting earlier diagnosis of the disease.

Aimed at medical professionals, the dramatic pictures tell the stories of nine lung cancer patients, all of whom were diagnosed too late to be cured. Holding their own x-rays in front of their chests, each person's name, age, symptoms and diagnosis are listed.

The campaign aims to save lives by raising awareness of lung cancer symptoms and addressing the stigma surrounding the disease by highlighting that anyone, young or old, can get lung cancer regardless of smoking history.

The campaign features nine patients – four men and five women, eight never-smokers and an occasional smoker, who were all diagnosed with stage III or IV lung cancer. They range in age from 28 to 65 and each has a powerful story to tell. For all of them, diagnosis took many months and repeated visits to their doctor.

Julian Hough, Chairman of Engine Creative, was inspired to lead the campaign after Jenny Abbott, who has been his best friend since age 13, was diagnosed with the disease aged 54. Jenny has been featured on Woman's Hour (from 32.49) and inspired an article in The Guardian.

Hough said: "My best friend has Stage IV cancer. Terminal. If it was diagnosed earlier, then things may be different. This work will hopefully make a difference. I wish we never had to make it, never had to run it. I cannot thank the team that made it happen enough."

Developed with patient-led lung cancer charities EGFR+UK, ALK+ and the Ruth Strauss Foundation the campaign has been crowdfunded with generous support from friends and relatives and the advertising community.

A further push aimed at a broader audience is planned for November, Lung Cancer awareness month. The campaign is initially targeted directly at GPs in order to avoid creating too great a response, while Covid-19 is still such a pervasive healthcare concern.

The pictures for the campaign were taken at Rankin's studios in North London, with a one-hour time slot set aside for each subject. The shoot was completed at the height of lockdown, with Rankin's team all dressed in full hazmat suits.