Lung cancer is one of the most common malignant tumors and has the highest mortality rate of cancer. How long can one live with lung cancer? This question depends on the type of cancer pathology, tumor stage, patient’s age, basic physical condition and whether timely and reasonable treatment is available, etc. Generally speaking, there are two types of lung cancer: small cell lung cancer and non-small cell lung cancer, which are discussed separately. Non-small cell lung cancer: common adenocarcinoma, squamous carcinoma, alveolar carcinoma, etc. Early stage (mostly stage I) 5-year survival rate after radical surgery is about 45%, in other words: 45% of early stage lung cancer patients can live beyond 5 years after surgery; early and middle stage (mostly stage II) 5-year survival rate after radical surgery is about 30%. The average survival of late stage is 11.5 months. Small cell lung cancer: high malignancy and rapid disease progression, with an average survival of 12-18 months in the limited stage and 6-10 months in the extensive stage.