Funding for the Lung Health Hub is provided by AstraZeneca. All content is developed independently by Outcomes4Me; AstraZeneca has no influence on the content of the site.
Your care plan after a lung cancer diagnosis involves more than treatment alone. Side effects can affect how you feel physically, emotionally, and socially, but you don’t have to face them alone. Learn how to care for your overall well-being and explore the resources available to support you through treatment.
Our patient discussion guide offers clear next steps and talking points to help you manage your care.
Keep close communication with your care team
Different cancer treatments have varying side effects. Keeping track of your side effects in a journal or a symptom tracker can be a helpful way to document what you’re feeling in an organized way and spot patterns.
Mass General Brigham’s Dr. Catherine Meador recommends having open communication with your care team. “We have a lot of effective medications to help with the side effects. Nausea and gastrointestinal distress is common [with chemotherapy] and there are ways to mitigate that,” she says.
She emphasizes that all side effects are worth noting. “The worst feeling as a doctor is to know that my patients are at home experiencing these side effects that nobody’s telling me,” she continues. “Mouth sores, rash, and other less common things are things to know about because they’re things we can help treat. It’s important to talk to your treating doctor about ‘What should I be looking for?’”
Ask about supportive resources
Cancer centers have different supportive resources that can help you manage the day-to-day of a diagnosis. Georgetown University’s Dr. Stephen Liu recommends exploring what your cancer center has to offer, whether it be nutrition counseling, transportation assistance, psycho-oncology, and more.
Watch the video for the different services to ask for.
Consider early goal-directed palliative care
Medical oncologists Dr. Jessica Lin and Dr. Hardeep Phull recommend starting palliative care as early as possible. Research shows that palliative care, a specialized approach that’s focused on improving quality of life, can improve patient survival. Not to be confused with hospice care, the goal of palliative care is to “handle symptoms when you find them and tackle them before they become problems,” says Dr. Phull.
Palliative care can also help you facilitate difficult conversations. In the video below, Dr. Phull explains why building a relationship with your palliative care team is invaluable.
Incorporate community and lifestyle changes
Exercise can be a powerful tool in combating some of the side effects you may be experiencing, especially when it comes to fatigue. Dr. Liu says, “Fatigue, I think, is one of the leading side effects of just about every cancer treatment that we have, and a symptom of the cancer itself. We would love to have a medicine that can eliminate fatigue, but the answer is, we don’t have one. Consistent exercise does help in this setting.” By working with your care team, you can personalize an exercise regimen that’s safe and effective for you.
Your social circle also matters during this time. Dr. Martin Dietrich says, “A lot of the cancer-related side effects [like] fatigue, low energy, mood, and depression are helped by social interactions, friends, and family,” says Dr. Dietrich. “The worst thing you can do is to be withdrawn and overthink, on the couch with your laptop, looking for symptoms.”
Joining a community, virtual or in-person, can be deeply meaningful and powerful in helping you feel heard, understood, and not alone.
