Has anyone ever elected not to have surgery for lung cancer?

Hi, my dad has recently been diagnosed with stage 11 lung cancer in the apical section of the lower right lobe. The tumor is 3cm x 5cm and the lymph gland has been effected.

his oncologist has suggested a lobectomy followed by chemotherapy, however my dad is terrified of the operation. He is considering radiation as an alternative.

i would be so grateful if anyone could tell me if they too have ever refused surgery for lung cancer and if so what the impact of this was?

is this a crazy thing he is considering?!

  • Hi Kc1984

    Welcome to Cancer Chat and sorry about your dad's diagnosis.

    I hope that someone who can answer your questions from personal experience will be along shortly to say hello.

    In the meantime, if you would like to give our nurses a call, they would be happy to talk to you about this.

    You can contact the team on freephone: 0808 800 4040 from Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.

    Best wishes to you and your dad,

    Jane

  • Hi,

    Sorry to hear about your dad. It is a difficult decision to make, to refuse proposed treatment and you have to do a lot of hard thinking.

    I haven´t done it my self, but I have undergone two surgeries, one to each side of my lung. The first was an open surgery to remove a tumor 10x9x8 cm and the second to remove a small tumor in my upper left lobe. Unfortunately the location of the tumor meant that I had to have a lobectomy which was carried out with VATS. Between the 2 surgeries I had 4 rounds of CHOEP chemotherapy, which unfortunately did not have any effect (hence the second op).

    What is it that scares your dad about the surgery? Is it that he may not wake up, the pain, how he will cope afterwards? Try to get him to put some words to what he is scared about, then it will be easier for you to sit down, talk about his situation and perhaps help him become more comfortable with his choice, whatever it ends up being.

    I´ll be glad to help weigh the pros and cons if you need anyone to talk to.

    Take care and best of luck to your dad :o)