Task 7  Overall Comprehension

 Watch a video clip “High-Tech Lung Cancer Test Cuts Risk of Dying” twice and choose the best answer to each of the questions below.

1. A major government study showed____ .

•A) a high-tech way could cure lung cancer

•B) a high-tech way could prevent lungcancer

•C) a high-tech way could screen for lungcancer

•D) a high-tech way could diagnose lungcancer

Answer:_C_ 

2. All of the following have beenmentioned about SteffaniTorrighelliEXCEPT _____.

•A) she is 67 years old

•B) she smoked for 50 years 

•C) she was at high risk for lung cancer

•D) she caught lung cancer two years ago

Answer:_D_

3. Who had 20 percent reduced mortalityaccording to the study?

•A) Those who age 55 to 74.

•B) Those who smoked for 30 years.

•C) Those who are screened with CT scan.

•D) Those who are screened with chestX-ray.

Answer:_C_

4. One concern for CT scanning for lungcancer is _______.

•A) its risks trump the benefits

•B) it is a anxiety-producing test 

•C) it delivers radiation in low dose

•D) it cannot pick up past infections 

Answer:_B_

5. 85 percent of patients diagnosed withlung cancer die because _______.

•A) it’s not caught soon enough

•B) it’s not caught accurately

•C) it’s not treated adequately

•D) it’s not treated correctly

Answer:_A_

Textbook

                              High-Tech Lung Cancer Test Cuts Risk of Dying

One day we hope to begin this broadcast with a cure for cancer, but in the meantime we begin with the way to keep from killing by catching it early.

No cancer kills more Americans than ling cancer. Estimates are more than 220,000 will be diagnosed this year and 157,000 will die.

But tonight a major goverment study showed a high-tech way of screening for lung cancer can drastically reduce the death toll. Here is Dr. Jon LaPook reports.

After 50 years of smoking, 67-year-old Steffani Torrighelli knew she was at high risk for lung cancer. Two years ago she enrolled in a study, and sure enough a CT scan picked up an early tumor before she had any symptoms.

"I said, ' God gave me a second chance in life,' and that's how I looked at it, "Torrighelli said.

Now, for the first time, that screening test has been proven to save lives in heavy smokers like her.

The study looked at more than 53,000 men and women who smoked the equivalent of a pack a day for about 30 years. These older smokers, aged 55 to 74, were screened with either chest X-ray or a more sensitive CT scan that gives a three-dimensional view. After five years, those who got the scans had 20 percent fewer deaths from lung cancer.

"The 20 percent reduced mortality indicates that this approach is able to save lives," said Dr. Douglas Lowy of the National Cancer Institute.

The effectiveness of CT scanning for lung cancer has been debated for years. A key concern：the test picks up lung abnormalities like scars from past infections that are not cancer. These are common in heavy smokers and can result in costly, anxiety-producing tests.

Another concern is radiation. A CT scan, even in low dose, delivers about 15 times more radiation than a chest X-ray. But the new study suggests the benefit of finding lung cancer early trumps the risks.

"This is one of the most important cancer findings in the last 10 years," said Dr. Harvey Pass of the department of cardiothoracic surgery at NYU Langone Medical Center. "It proves that you can save patients' lives by detecting cancer early."

Four years ago, Barton Lazarus had a CT scan that caught an early lung cancer missed by a chest X-ray. Doctors removed the tumor, and today he's cancer-free.

Since Torrighelli's lung surgery two years ago, she's also cancer-free and vigilant about screening.

"I can walk," said Torrighelli. "I can do everything that I did before. I'm feeling good. I feel perfect."

A good screening test is so important because right now, 85 percent of patients diagnosed with lung cancer die because it's not caught soon enough.