Four million Medicare beneficiaries can have their computed tomography (CT) scans covered to screen for lung cancer. The decision by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid will provide more access to a high risk lung cancer group (heavy smokers between 55 and 74) and presumably save lives since the early detection CT scans give can improve the lung cancer survival rate 25%.
University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center was among the first institutions in the country to try to make CT scans more accessible by offering $99 screenings after a National Institutes of Health (NIH) study showed significant benefits of the CT scan over traditional X-rays for lung cancer detection.
Sound bites from Robert 'Chip' Gilkeson, MD, Vice Chairman of Research at University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center in Cleveland, Ohio, and related b-roll are also available for download on http://news.uhhospitals.org/.
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