It is important for doctors to put patients into the proper stage. In this way, they can tell patients what the best treatment is for them. Stages 3 and 4 usually require a combination of therapies, but the treatment team will create a plan that is appropriate for you.  Visit the Stages page to learn more about how to determine the stage of lung cancer. 

Chemotherapy and Radiation Therapy are used more often in the later stages of lung cancer.  This may be due to more disease than cannot simply be removed by surgery or that there are other health concerns. The decision depends on what kind of cancer you have, where it is, the extent of its growth, how it is affecting your normal body functions, and your general health. The charts below represent the general treatment options that Roswell Park patients received. The proportions of combination therapies are not represented.