In contact with lung cancer patients and their families, the question is often asked: What can be done to prolong the life of lung cancer patients besides surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy? It has been proven that some life skills can help to improve the quality of life and prolong the survival time. These skills are outside of medical treatment and fall under the category of personal lifestyle and social support. Let’s take a look at which skills can help patients. 1, find support and openly accept the help of others If you feel isolated from society, this will certainly make people feel bad; if you can fight for strong support from many aspects of society after the disease, you will naturally get better treatment and recovery, in exchange for better results and a higher quality of life. According to a recent study, lung cancer patients with good social support appear to be less traumatized by surgery, have less impact on life, and recover faster. 2.Understanding the symptoms of depression Some studies have shown that the presence of mental and psychological distress (such as lingering depression and anxiety) in tumor patients is an important factor affecting survival, and this relationship is more evident in lung cancer patients. Patients with advanced lung cancer who developed depression during their first chemotherapy treatment survived half as long as others. In another study, patients with depression had a median survival time (meaning that 50% were alive after a period of time and 50% had passed away) that was four times shorter. The risk of suicide in cancer patients is 2-10 times higher than in the general population, and suicide is predominantly male and often occurs within the first month after cancer diagnosis. It is important to learn to properly distinguish between cancer-induced depression and the grief that is commonly encountered. When diagnosed with cancer, most people experience sadness, fear and disappointment, but their mood improves after 1-2 weeks and true depression is not uncommon. In order to be able to correctly identify what is medically referred to as depression, it is necessary to familiarize yourself with the symptoms of depression, tell your doctor what you feel and think when you feel depressed, and see a psychiatrist if necessary. 3. Focus on palliative care for decompensated illness You may be thinking when you read the title of this article whether it is discussing hospice care? Why is palliative care mentioned in an article about how to improve the survival of lung cancer patients? The term palliative care is often misinterpreted. Palliative care is about meeting the emotional, physical and spiritual needs and concerns of critically ill patients in order to improve the patient’s quality of life. In the United States, palliative support treatment home visits for oncology patients are usually accompanied by a physician, a nurse, and a social worker, in hopes of answering and addressing medical, social, and psychological concerns encountered. A 2010 study showed that after a diagnosis of advanced lung cancer, the average survival of those who had palliative care counseling was 2 1/2 months longer than those who had not. 4 .Cultivate your spiritual life Medical research has been slow in incorporating the human spirit or spirituality into cancer treatment plans, but an active spiritual life may play a role in lung cancer survival. The first step is to define spirituality, which the National Cancer Society defines as an individual’s belief in the meaning of life. Someone may join a religious organization to gain comfort and inner peace, someone may begin to think deeply and attend to life, someone may go to yoga, or commune with nature. A small study of people with stage IV lung cancer found that people with an active spiritual life responded better to chemotherapy and survived longer. 5. Forget the “stigma” of having the disease Most lung cancer patients feel a sense of shame or dishonor after having the disease, and some patients meet people they know and wonder, “What will they think of me? Some people will ask the patient, “How long have you been smoking? “. While you are still struggling with the pain and side effects of treatment, these remarks can cause you a lot of stress. Not to mention, the “stigma” of having lung cancer does keep some patients from getting the treatment they need and deserve. In the past, studies have shown that internists are less proactive in treating lung cancer than they are in treating other tumors. However, in recent years, rapid advances in molecular targeted therapies, chemotherapy and immunotherapy have significantly improved overall outcomes, and physician confidence in lung cancer treatment has increased substantially. Blood clots often occur in deep veins and are associated with increased blood clotting and decreased activity after the disease. Blood clots usually occur in the legs or pelvis, and can cause serious and even life-threatening symptoms if they break off, dislodge and block blood vessels in the lungs with blood flow. One study found that patients with lung cancer with thrombosis had a 70% increased risk of death. 7. Healthy diet We know that a healthy diet not only makes us feel comfortable, but also reduces the chances of cancer recurrence. The American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR ) has made dietary recommendations for cancer prevention. For people who have developed tumors, a healthy diet can help prevent the recurrence of the disease. Some studies suggest that physical activity may play a role in preventing lung cancer, but it is less clear whether exercise helps prolong the survival of people who already have lung cancer. Moderate exercise has the potential to reduce the risk of premature death if one is also able to participate in sports, and exercise also reduces the risk of death from other age-related diseases. Studies have shown that exercise can improve the quality of life of people with lung cancer. At present, we do not know which is the most suitable exercise program and how long the best exercise time is. It depends on the exercise condition, physical condition and personal habits, etc. It is better to ask your doctor. We put smoking cessation at the end of these ten tips because we don’t want to increase the “stigma” of lung cancer patients. However, continuing to smoke after a lung cancer diagnosis means having a shorter survival period. Previous studies have shown that quitting smoking after a lung cancer diagnosis facilitates surgery and improves the effectiveness of radiation therapy. In a recent study of patients with early-stage non-small cell lung cancer and limited-stage small cell lung cancer, it was found that those who quit smoking after a lung cancer diagnosis had twice the five-year survival as those who did not quit, which makes it easy to see the importance of quitting. If you are trying to quit smoking, you can read articles about quitting to build confidence and improve your success rate. 10. Have your own ideas about seeing a doctor While there is no definitive data to prove that patients who have their own ideas survive better, we do know that it is important to receive the best possible treatment and care. With today’s pervasive medical advertising and unregulated, random medical consultations, it is easy to become a “gift” between doctors in the hospital. Learn to see a false face in front of you and a bumpy road beneath your feet. Discernment and insight come from learning, discussing, comparing and judging, and having a backbone to do things, not jumping to conclusions and making decisions. However, you should not be bitten by a snake in one day and be afraid of a well in ten years, and you should not be stubborn due to your little medical knowledge. The first step is to find the oncologist and hospital that satisfies you. Asking questions and looking for information on the Internet (and having your loved ones assist or do it for you) can help you make a decision. Some studies have shown that patients have higher survival rates when lung cancer is removed at hospitals that have done a lot of lung cancer surgery. Some units conduct clinical trials of new drugs (drugs are free) that you can consider participating in. From this, lung cancer patients if you have three years to live, you will definitely live longer than three years, or five, eight or ten years or even longer if you can do the above points. Good habits can change a person’s life is the truth.