What treatment might I be offered?

Surgery

A small number of people with lung cancer can be offered an operation. If the team think that this is the best option for you, you will be referred to a chest surgeon. Before a final decision is made, the surgeon will need to be sure that your general health is good, and you will also have another scan (called a "PET scan"). This is a further check on the status of the cancer.

Removing lung cancer is a major operation, and it will take you a number of weeks to recover fully.

Sometimes surgery is more successful if you have chemotherapy (see below) either before or after your operation. The team looking after you will discuss this with you once all your results are available.

Radiotherapy

This uses high-energy X-rays to destroy cancer cells. It is arranged by a specialist called a "clinical oncologist". You might be offered either:

* a long course of treatment ("radical radiotherapy"). This aims to cure the cancer if the cancer is small, but an operation is not possible. It means daily trips to the hospital for treatment over several weeks. This therapy can cause temporary side-effects like tiredness, dry throat or problems with swallowing. Your specialist nurse will give you advice about this and the cancer team will see you regularly to check how you are coping with treatment
* a short course of treatment ("palliative radiotherapy"). This aims to improve symptoms such as cough, bleeding, pain or breathlessness. This only involves between one and five visits to the hospital and generally causes few side-effects.

Chemotherapy

This means using drugs to treat cancer. It has the advantage that the drugs go straight into your blood stream where they can attack the cancer cells wherever they are, including outside the lung. But since chemotherapy also affects normal cells, temporary side-effects are common. The specialist (called a "medical oncologist") will always seek to minimise these side-effects.

Treatment involves having a drip and receiving drugs by injection and tablets, usually as an out-patient. You would usually have two courses ("cycles"), and then have another CT scan to see how you are responding. If chemotherapy is working you may be given four to six cycles in total, every three weeks.

Symptom control

If your cancer is found at an advanced stage or is making you feel unwell, you might decide with your doctors that none of the treatments described above is right for you.

You might benefit from a palliative approach. This focuses on the symptoms you are getting such as cough, breathlessness, poor appetite or weakness, and using medicines or other treatment to control these. The purpose is to improve the quality of your life so that you feel as well as possible.

Your specialist might recommend referring you to a palliative care team who can visit you and your family at home. Some of these teams are linked to a local hospice, and can provide lots of additional help and support to you during your illness.

Taking care of your feelings

Being diagnosed with lung cancer is hard. And being treated for lung cancer can be difficult too.

You may feel shock, fear, disbelief, anger, loneliness or resentment. You may feel a combination of some or all of these emotions. You may feel like all you want is to be left alone. You may find it hard to accept that you have cancer at all. If you are or were a smoker, you may feel the cancer is your fault. Or you may feel angry and bitter that you have a disease just because of where you worked.

If you are a friend, relative or family member of someone who has been diagnosed with lung cancer, you may feel many of the same emotions.

It is better for everyone if you all talk about your feelings - when you are ready to.

You can also talk with your specialist cancer nurse. She or he can also help you find more specialist help with a counsellor or psychologist if you'd like that.

Some GP practices have a counsellor attached. And your GP can also tell you if there are community-based cancer nurse specialists in your area.

The British Lung Foundation has also produced a film for people who have just been diagnosed with lung cancer, which we can send to you for free. It may help you to discuss things with your family and friends. Please get in touch for a copy - our contact details are on the back page of this booklet.

Benefits

Having lung cancer might mean that you have to give up work or spend more money than usual on things like transport to appointments or extra prescriptions. This might make you worry about how you and your family are going to manage.

Most people with lung cancer are entitled to state benefits. For further information and advice, please speak with the benefits advisers on the British Lung Foundation helpline, 08458 50 50 20 (Mon - Fri, 10am - 6pm). You can also go to your local Citizens Advice, or speak with the Welfare Benefits office at your local council.