Pemetrexed Disodium in Treating Patients With Stage IV Non-small Cell Lung Cancer and ECOG Performance Status 3

Inclusion Criteria: * Patients must have histologically confirmed Stage IV non-squamous histology non-small cell lung cancer * ECOG performance status of 3 * Sensitizing epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), anaplastic lymphoma receptor tyrosine kinase (ALK) and ROS proto-oncogene 1, receptor tyrosine kinase (ROS-1) mutations are either negative or unknown * Absolute neutrophil count \>= 1,500/mcL * Platelets \>= 100,000/mcL * Creatinine clearance \>= 45 mL/min * Women of child-bearing potential and men must agree to use adequate contraception (hormonal or barrier method of birth control; abstinence) prior to study entry and for the duration of study participation; should a woman become pregnant or suspect she is pregnant while participating in this study, she should inform her treating physician immediately * Ability to understand and the willingness to sign an Institutional Review Board (IRB)-approved informed consent document * Ability to understand and complete the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) quality of life (QOL) instruments Exclusion Criteria: * Patients who have previously received chemotherapy for non-small cell lung cancer, or have received radiotherapy within 2 weeks prior to entering the study, or who have not recovered from adverse events due to treatment more than 2 weeks earlier * Patients whose tumors are positive for the sensitizing EGFR mutation * Patients whose tumors are positive for the sensitizing ALK fusion * Patients whose tumors are positive for the sensitizing ROS-1 fusion * Patients may not be receiving any other investigational agents * Patients with symptomatic or recurrent brain metastases should be excluded from this clinical trial * History of allergic reactions attributed to compounds of similar chemical or biologic composition to pemetrexed * Pregnant women are excluded from this study; breastfeeding should be discontinued