I too find myself wondering how long it will be before my dad dies from his lung cancer. It all started last October when he started experiencing abdominal pain that kept him awakes nights. He had every test imaginable, we thought. In Feb. after trying many medicines to help his stomach and pain releivers that usually only made him worse, he got weaker from not eating and drinking, we called an ambulance. After being in the hosipital for one day they had a diagnosis of lung cancer. They had ordered an upper chest CT and found it. We were all to say the least shocked that no one during all his testing even considered this as a test. He had had a bypass some 30 years ago, to me it should have been done as one of the first tests. He smoked nonfiliter cigarettes for years and did quit for awhile and then starting smoking small cigars. We have a very large family but this is still the most heartbreaking thing I have ever had to go through in my life. I thank god for my sisters and brothers and know that without them it would be so much more difficult. He is at home which is where he wants to be, he was on oxygen but now only has to have when he thinks he needs it. He is on still alot of medication, morphine, anxiety, heart, steriods and so on. He sleeps away most days and some nights. He is very hard to understand when talking and gets upset when we can't understand what he wants. Someone is in his room 24 hours a day, and I know he knows we are there. I just want to say, if you have anything going on in your body that you can't understand and no one can diagnos please make sure they do the standard tests first especially if the person was a smoker at any time in their life. The CT would not have helped back in October, they said he has had it for years, but at least he would not have suffered all those months when this test was not done. I love him with all my heart and hope he does die in his sleep, in no pain knowing how much he is loved and always will be. Hopefully I helped someone somewhere with my story. I will take it one day at a time and hope he doesn't have to linger too long, because this is no way to live. Take care