DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS: Histologically or cytologically proven non-small cell lung cancer Squamous cell lung cancer Large cell lung cancer Adenocarcinoma lung cancer Mixture of above Locally advanced disease for which the patient declined aggressive treatment or that is unsuitable for aggressive curative treatment due to at least one of the following: Performance status of ECOG 2 or 3 Otherwise unexplained weight loss greater than 10% in the last 6 months Bulky disease that cannot be irradiated safely to high doses Inability to tolerate chemotherapy Cytologically positive pleural effusion OR Clinically or radiologically proven metastatic disease for which palliative chemotherapy is not planned in the first 38 days after radiotherapy No more than one brain metastasis allowed One of the following symptoms identified as the index symptom: Loss of appetite Nausea Vomiting Cough Coughing up blood Chest pain Shortness of breath Difficulty swallowing Fatigue Must have symptoms related to intrathoracic lung cancer that are amenable to radiation palliation