Cancer is the mutation of normal cells in the human body that have lost control and invaded normal tissues. The most important feature is that it grows faster than normal tissues and can metastasize, and it can kill people quickly by taking away the nutrients from normal tissues. Everyone has to face death, but when you have the misfortune to be terminally ill and face the threat of death, I am afraid it is hard to take it lightly. As a doctor, I always hear the same question from cancer patients and their families: How long can I live if I have cancer? This is indeed a difficult question to answer, and there are many factors involved in its answer. First of all, the degree of malignancy of cancer determines the life span. The degree of malignancy of cancer is directly related to the degree of differentiation of cells from which the growing tissue originates. Generally speaking, tumors with high degree of differentiation have slow growth of cancer cells, thus low malignancy and slow metastasis; those with low degree of differentiation have high malignancy and early metastasis. For example, highly differentiated squamous carcinoma can be treated very well, early lung squamous carcinoma patients can be cured by surgery alone, and some of them do not even need radiotherapy (according to pathological stage); however, small cell undifferentiated carcinoma has higher malignancy, and most of them have local invasion and distant metastasis when establishing the diagnosis. Therefore, the pathological type and differentiation degree of tumor cells determine the growth rate, metastasis rate and treatment effect of tumor. From this, it is not difficult to understand why cancer of the same organ has different treatment results. Secondly, early diagnosis and treatment are prerequisites. Early diagnosis and early treatment are the magic weapons for us to overcome cancer. With scientific progress, early detection and diagnosis of cancer has become a reality, but what is not optimistic is the carelessness and carelessness of the patients themselves. They only treat cough as inflammation, blood in sputum as tuberculosis, and so on, and take some antibiotics indiscriminately, but refuse to receive regular and systematic examination and treatment. Only after a relatively long period of time did they come to the hospital, losing the best time for treatment and turning a possible cure into a palliative treatment. Thus, having a tumor is not equal to a death sentence, but early or late detection and treatment will make a world of difference. Again, the choice of treatment is the key. In order to cure cancer, the primary premise is to completely remove the malignant tumor cells, i.e. the treatment mode based on surgery. At present, the more mature and effective methods for treating cancer are, firstly, surgical radical resection; secondly, radiotherapy and chemotherapy; thirdly, local treatment of cancer; fourthly, conservative palliative allopathic treatment in internal medicine. In addition, there are traditional Chinese medicine, biological therapy, targeted therapy and immunotherapy. Our hospital has different special treatments for different lung cancers according to their pathological stages. For example, for early and mid-stage lung cancer, we adopt complete surgical resection, while for advanced stage, we apply unique individualized TCM treatment plan with radiotherapy, supplemented by local medication, interventional therapy and high-intensity focused ultrasound treatment, which is effective and less painful, and has relieved many patients of their pain. In clinical practice, there are many patients who believe in partial prescriptions, ancestral secret recipes, or are afraid of surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, and treat haphazardly in small clinics and other places for a period of time. Therefore, cancer patients should realize that they should combine surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, immunotherapy and other treatment methods organically in order to achieve the best effect. Finally, to enhance one’s immunity is to improve the fighting power against cancer. In the process of cancer treatment, the most important thing is to protect the patient’s immune function, that is, to protect the patient’s resistance, and the decline of immune function is one of the reasons for the resurgence of residual cancer cells. From the clinical point of view, to evaluate the immune ability of patients, we can observe the general condition of patients, such as physical strength, physique, appetite, weight, sleep, mental status, etc. In general, we should mobilize the initiative of patients, enhance confidence, strengthen physique, apply immune enhancers appropriately and strengthen nutrition. And the best way is to take the Chinese medicine to support the righteousness. Our Chinese medicine mainly focuses on supporting the righteousness and anti-cancer, which can well support the righteousness of human body and protect the immunity. Patients and family members should understand that “cure” and “operation” are relative terms. For every patient, there is no fear in the face of cancer and there is certainly a lot of pain inside, but since it is a fact, it is useless to worry and suffer. The only way to survive is to actively cooperate with the treatment and build up the confidence to overcome the disease. In fact, cancer is a chronic disease. If someone asks “how long can I live with cancer”, I think the answer is written in the patient’s body and the initiative is in the patient’s hands. The notion that cancer is incurable has passed, and it is a consensus that cancer is not equal to death. How long is life? It is up to you to pursue it.