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Is Lung Cancer Curable?

Each person is different, and each lung cancer is different. While the overall survival rate of lung cancer is low, some people live many more years than expected after a lung cancer diagnosis. Your prognosis following a confirmed lung cancer diagnosis depends on the type and stage of lung cancer as well as other things like your age and general health.

Thanks to research, such as clinical trials, there are now many more effective treatments for lung cancer than we’ve had previously, which have seen an increase in survival rates and also the quality of life for people diagnosed with lung cancer. This is providing hope that has never existed before.

The type of treatment you receive for lung cancer depends on the type of cancer you have, how advanced it is and also your overall health. If you have early-stage non-small cell lung cancer you will most likely have surgery to remove the tumour. If you have small cell lung cancer, on the other hand, this is more often treated with chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Immunotherapy and targeted therapy in lung cancer have also been game-changers.

The sooner you are diagnosed, the more treatment options you will have available; that’s why it’s important to be proactive, be your own advocate and speak with your healthcare team about any new or unusual symptoms you may have.

Is lung cancer curable? I think the word cure is very, very tricky to define. Everyone defines it differently. Do we go with the medical definition of living without cancer for a period of time, or do we think more deeply about what that means? I don’t think the fear of cancer reoccurring goes away. And I don’t think that being defined as cured means that you necessarily live a great quality of life. I’ve known many people over the years who have defied statistics and survived with lung cancer for a very long time while still on treatment. I’ve met people who have been taking targeted therapy for seven or more years, and still counting and they’ve seen their children grow up and get married.

I’ve lived with lung cancer now for more than five and a half years, and I’m still on treatment. I wouldn’t consider myself cured, but I’ve lived a very, very great last five and a half years. And I’m hoping to live with that for a very long time. So, to me, stability is more important and staying in the moment and treasuring what we have now, is much more important than defining the word cure. Lung Cancer Search and Rescue. Hope in every breath.

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Lillian
Lillian, 39 NSW
Lung Foundation Australia is here to help you lead the best life you can by connecting you and your loved ones to information, support and care, linking you to life-saving clinical trials and supporting active participation in lung cancer research. To find out more or to access support, connect with us today.
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