I am new to this board. My 66 year young father was diagnosed with stage 3b, NSCLC lung cancer the middle of august and was given a 3 to 9 month prognosis. He has lost about 30 pounds since the middle of July and seems to be wasting away. He does not want to do chemo (the docs said it wouldn't cure him anyway) but has agreed to radiation therapy in the hopes it will stop the progress of his mass in the lung. Right now the mass has grown enough where it is affecting his vocal cords and his voice is very hoarse and hard to understand. He started this past Monday and today will be his 5th treatment (he is to do this for 7 weeks, 5x a week). They are doing a scan or xray (not sure which) today. Isn't this early to do a scan? I am concerned he won't see any improvement after just a week and get even more discouraged. Also, is it possible the radiation could shrink the mass? It has grown but is in just one area of his lung. I live many states away and will visit for the 2nd time soon but so far, have not been there for any doctor appts. His weight loss has concerned me. I wish there was medicine to affect his taste buds! Thank you in advance. This is the hardest thing I have ever dealt with in my life. He hasn't stopped smoking as his opinion is he is dying anyway and he wants to enjoy at least being able to smoke. His spirits are very low right now.