>>>
we told you last night here about a major health story, a new study that shows a certain type of
cat scan
can cut
death rates
from
lung cancer
, one of the deadliest types of cancer. the people it's helping are current and former smokers, and there are more than 96 million of them here in the u.s. more than a third of them over the age of 50. our own
chris jansing
has a closer look.
>>
take a couple of deep breaths.
>> reporter:
for 55 years, arnold was a two pack a day smoker. an xarvegs ray came up clean. but a
spiral ct scan
caught his cancer early. finding this now, what does it mean for the patient?
>>
everything. this patient, with good treatment, has about a 95% chance of the cancer cured.
>> reporter:
showing that low-dose
spiral ct scan
can reduce the
death rate
by 20%, hospitals have been getting lots of calls about the scanners. many made by ge, parent company of
nbc universal
. but experts advise caution.
>>
i'm very frightened we're going to have a lot of people at low risk or moderate risk for
lung cancer
go out and demand this test and being harmed because of it.
>> reporter:
25% of scans produced false alarms, which can saenld patients on an emotional roller coaster. the
high risk
group, who would benefit most, are people over 50, who have smoked what oncologists cam 30-pack years. say someone who smoked one pack a day for 30 years or two packs a day for 15 years. there are other concerns, too. most health plans don't cover the $300 to $400 cost. the chance for early detection shouldn't be taken as a lie sense to light up.
>>
this does not give people a card to go out and smoke.
>> reporter:
for those who have been heavy smokers for years, the results are promising.
>>
if not for the
cat scans
in both cases, i would probably be dead.
>> reporter:
and arnold lord hopes to be living proof for years to come.
chris jansing
, nbc news, new york.
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