Overview of Radiation Therapy for Stage 3 Lung Cancer
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/ Updated February 5th, 2022

Overview of Radiation Therapy for Stage 3 Lung Cancer

Medical Source: Dr. Billy Loo
Stanford Medicine
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Patients diagnosed with stage three lung cancer have tumors that are not only in the lungs but have also spread to nearby lymph nodes. Depending on how advanced this spread is and the patient’s health, doctors will choose some combination of radiation therapy, chemotherapy, or possibly surgery.

“There’s the opportunity with aggressive therapy to try to cure the cancer,” says Dr. Billy Loo, Jr., a radiation oncologist and bioengineer who leads the Thoracic Radiation Oncology Program at Stanford.

Bone, PET, CT and MRI scans help doctors get an idea of how much the cancer has spread, and then make treatment decisions. If radiation is the treatment of choice, high energy beams are aimed at the cancer. This basically damages the DNA inside cancer cells, preventing them from growing or creating more cancerous tissue.


Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.

Dr. Billy Loo is a physician-scientist, radiation oncologist and bioengineer who leads the Thoracic Radiation Oncology Program at Stanford. He is also an Associate Professor of Radiation Oncology. Read More

Patients diagnosed with stage three lung cancer have tumors that are not only in the lungs but have also spread to nearby lymph nodes. Depending on how advanced this spread is and the patient’s health, doctors will choose some combination of radiation therapy, chemotherapy, or possibly surgery.

“There’s the opportunity with aggressive therapy to try to cure the cancer,” says Dr. Billy Loo, Jr., a radiation oncologist and bioengineer who leads the Thoracic Radiation Oncology Program at Stanford.

Read More
Bone, PET, CT and MRI scans help doctors get an idea of how much the cancer has spread, and then make treatment decisions. If radiation is the treatment of choice, high energy beams are aimed at the cancer. This basically damages the DNA inside cancer cells, preventing them from growing or creating more cancerous tissue.

Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.

Dr. Billy Loo is a physician-scientist, radiation oncologist and bioengineer who leads the Thoracic Radiation Oncology Program at Stanford. He is also an Associate Professor of Radiation Oncology. Read More

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