OUTLINE: This is a dose escalation study of gemcitabine. Induction phase: Patients receive gemcitabine IV over 30 minutes on days 1 and 8 and cisplatin IV over 1 hour on day 1. Treatment repeats every 3 weeks for 2 courses. Chemoradiotherapy phase: Patients receive paclitaxel IV over 1 hour and gemcitabine IV over 30 minutes beginning 2 hours into paclitaxel infusion on day 1 of weeks 6, 9, and 12. Patients undergo conventional chest radiotherapy on Monday though Friday for weeks 6-11. Cohorts of 3-5 patients receive escalating doses of gemcitabine until the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) is determined. The MTD is defined as the dose at which at least 2 of 5 patients experience dose limiting toxicity.