Radiation therapy for lung cancer?

Some don’t need radiation at all. My mom didn’t. Hers was a tumor in the lower lobe of her lung. It was about the size of a cigarette- go figure. They did a lung resection, meaning removed that entire lobe of her lung. They tested many lymph nodes during that surgery. No cancer cells were found in any of the lymph nodes so her oncologist said no radiation was needed.
She lived 12 years after that to the age of 72 when it was believed one lone cell eventually caused it to metastasize. By the time she was diagnosed, it was in so many areas of the body they didn’t even try to determine if it was indeed mets from the lung cancer, which is rare after 12 years, or a rare for of bone cancer. A lot of doctors say after 10 years you are clear. That is BS. It’s a milestone to be certain but I have close friends that have metastatic melanoma from 15-20 years ago. Plus, I had melanoma and was told after 16 years it had metastasized to my liver and bones. Thank God they were wrong but in my course of seeing many oncs, I met many patients that had mets of about every type of cancer there is, some 30 years later. They can test the cells and tell if it is mets or a new and unrelated cancer. My mom was just so sick when diagnosed w/ the cancer the last time, there wasn’t much point. Doctors wasted precious time and kept telling her that lung cancer in her stage NEVER came back after 10 years, so we kept telling her that. I wished we hadn’t listened to them. Not all oncologists are equal, just like family doctors are not. The life of a person with lung cancer rides as much on their doctor’s skill/ knowledge as it does the treatment. A lot of oncs disagree with each other. A lot of radiology oncs disagree on how much radiation. A lot of oncs disagree with the actual radiologist, etc. etc. Research and meet with several doctors.
If the person gets radiation and has a feeling their cancer has returned, no matter how many years it’s been, insist they do tests. I wish beyond what I could even articulate that I could go back and insist they do the damn test instead of listening to their advice for me to reassure my mom that it was not possible for it to have returned after 10 years (12 in her case.) I was with my mom for 1 month in the hospital and met many, many lung cancer patients during that time. Back then, it was a 7-10 day stay but my mom had problems getting scar tissue to form and her lung kept collapsing. It is one of the nastiest cancers out there I found out.
God Bless you or whoever it is that has the lung cancer you are asking about. Sorry this is so emotional but I loved her dearly and miss her dearly. I just don’t want anyone to go through the pain she did because some docs think they are God. There are some amazing docs out there, you just have to find them. I have two amazing ones and am thankful for them every single day. Have them hand in there and be proactive even if you are not their favorite patient. A good doctor listens to concerns and doesn’t think he/ she can 100% predict what any cancer will, or will not do. Yes, there are averages and by the book statistics, but if you go into it feeling for any reason uncomfortable w/ the answers you are given or the info your doc gives you as opposed to how you feel, speak up and speak loudly.

If it is limited stage lung cancer (there are only two stages of lung cancer–limited and extensive), usually it is treated surgically and then chemo and/or radiation are used. However, it is possible taht they would want to irradiated the tumor before doing surgery, just to shrink it as much as possible.