Ask CancerCare

For a long time, it was believed that only surgery was necessary to achieve a successful outcome for lung cancer patients diagnosed with stage IB to IIIA non-small cell lung cancer. However, a number of recent investigational research studies provided evidence that patients who received both surgery as their primary treatment and chemotherapy as an “adjuvant,” or secondary treatment, reduced their risk of the cancer recurring. Unlike chemotherapy used as a primary therapy, adjuvant chemotherapy is usually shorter-term and has a fixed duration.

You should discuss any of your concerns about the side effects of chemotherapy with your oncologist before treatment starts. I do want to say that there are significantly fewer, less severe side effects in current-day chemotherapy treatments and much more can be done to address them.

For more information on lung cancer staging and treatment, read our lung cancer publications

View all of CancerCare’s publications about managing side effects.