Palliative treatment for lung cancer

If the cancer is advanced when it is first diagnosed or comes back after treatment (recurrence), your doctor will discuss palliative treatment for any symptoms caused by the cancer. This is also known as supportive care. They may refer you to a palliative care specialist.

The role of palliative treatment

Palliative treatment aims to manage symptoms without trying to cure the disease. It can be used at any stage of advanced lung cancer to improve quality of life and does not mean giving up hope. In fact, palliative treatment can help some people with advanced lung cancer to live well and with few symptoms for many months or years.

Ways that symptoms may be relieved include:

• having palliative drug therapies (chemotherapy, immunotherapy and targeted therapy), radiation therapy and surgery to slow the spread of cancer and control symptoms such as pain or breathlessness
• draining any fluid to help prevent it building up again. See Managing symptoms for more details.

Palliative treatment is one aspect of palliative care, in which a team of health professionals aims to meet your physical, emotional, cultural, spiritual and social needs and those of your family or carer.

To learn more, see Living with advanced cancer, Palliative care and listen to Cancer Council's The Thing About Advanced Cancer podcast series.