Cancer is difficult to be cured, but if appropriate treatment plan is chosen, it can reduce cancer cells and control their growth and spread, from this perspective, it can also be said to be “cured”. When lung cancer is in advanced stage, it has already spread and metastasized, so it is difficult to remove all cancer cells through surgery, and the time for treatment is very precious. A 72-year-old female patient with advanced lung cancer had her condition well controlled after six months because she chose the combination of targeted drugs and chemotherapy drugs in time; while many patients admitted at the same time as her had passed away. Therefore, patients can “live with cancer” for many years if they choose the right treatment plan. 1. Not all cancers are suitable for surgery Surgery is suitable for patients with primary cancer, but when the cancer cells have metastasized, most of them are not suitable for surgery. Strictly speaking, surgery should try to remove the cancerous tissue found. Meticulous examinations such as brain MRI (if CT brain is done, some lesions are still difficult to detect), liver MRI, bone scan and other methods are needed to find out whether there are metastases of cancer before surgery. Since cancer cells are very tiny, when the formed lesions are not large enough, it is difficult to detect them by general instrumentation, so that soon after the surgery, new lesions will appear in other parts, so that the surgery is not very meaningful. In addition, most of small cell lung cancer, such as small cell lung cancer, is mainly treated with chemotherapy and radiotherapy, which is generally not suitable for surgery. Pathological diagnosis is the most reliable diagnostic basis for cancer, and it has guiding significance for the treatment and prognosis of cancer. Therefore, the most direct and least painful examination should be chosen. The more common methods for lung cancer diagnosis include fiberoptic bronchoscopy and percutaneous lung biopsy. Once a primary lung occupancy is detected, diagnostic pathological examination should be performed as early as possible to confirm the diagnosis and seize the time for treatment. However, repeated examinations should be avoided to reduce the mental and economic burden of patients. Chemotherapy is not the only method to treat tumors, especially for patients with advanced cancer who are weak, comprehensive treatment is often more effective. When the patient’s body is already weakened, it is difficult to withstand the blow of chemotherapy. It is crucial for doctors to weigh the pros and cons between the immunity of the body, the efficacy of chemotherapy and the toxic side effects at this time. In short, treatment should be given without causing additional pain to achieve the purpose of prolonging life and improving the quality of survival. 4.Targeted drugs can be chosen to treat non-small cell lung cancer Targeted drugs are a relatively new method to treat tumors. Traditional chemotherapeutic drugs wield their effects through cytotoxic effects, which can kill tumor cells and damage normal cells at the same time, bringing greater side effects; while targeted drugs are developed for the unique genes of tumor cells, which can identify and kill tumor cells with high specificity. However, the price of targeted drugs is higher, so it is necessary to consider the affordability. It should be especially noted that not all lung cancer patients taking these targeted drugs are effective because the oncogenes vary from one cancer patient to another. In the early days, it was thought that targeted drugs were more effective in oriental, female, non-smoker, alveolar cell carcinoma or adenocarcinoma patients based on clinical statistics, and many physicians have been using drugs based on this principle. With the deeper dissection of the mechanism of action of the drugs, the suitability has now been tested according to the genetic status of the patients: for patients who are suitable for targeted drugs, they can receive good results even in advanced stages; while for those who are not suitable, not only will they not work, but also waste the high cost of the drugs and the timing of the treatment for nothing. So if you are ready to consider targeted drugs, it is recommended to do gene mutation testing first. 5.Appropriate use of Chinese medicine Chinese medicine is warm in nature and has slow onset of effect, but it has good conditioning effect, which can reduce toxic side effects and improve the efficacy when combined with surgery and radiotherapy. In the treatment of lung cancer, methods such as nourishing yin and generating fluid, benefiting qi and strengthening spleen, benefiting qi and nourishing yin, nourishing yin and warming yang are used respectively, together with anti-cancer drugs such as resolving phlegm and softening hardness, regulating qi and removing blood stasis, clearing heat and detoxifying. 6. Pay attention to diet and emotion While adopting reasonable treatment plan, it must be remembered that anti-cancer ultimately relies on patients’ own body resistance, so it is necessary to pay attention to diet, supplement sufficient nutrition and ensure immunity. Meanwhile, it is also crucial to maintain a positive and optimistic mental state.