During treatment for any stage of lung cancer, there are steps
you can take at home to manage some symptoms and side effects.
Be sure to follow any instructions your doctor has given you.
Other issues you may be able to handle at home include: - Loss
of appetite or difficulty eating. Eating several small meals
throughout the day or eating soft, bland foods may help if you
do not have an appetite or if certain foods are difficult to
eat. - Coughing. You may have an ongoing cough or develop a
severe cough. Your doctor can recommend some nonprescription
cough medicines or prescribe some medicines to help relieve your
symptoms. If you smoke and have lung cancer, quitting smoking
will make your treatment more effective and may help you live
longer. Smoking delays healing after surgery, so you may have a
better recovery from lung cancer surgery if you have quit
smoking. People with early-stage lung cancer who continue to
smoke during radiation therapy have been shown to have shorter
survival times than those who do