My name is Trish Hom. Patricia Hom. Dr. Patricia Hom. I am an MD/MPH. I had been coughing for six months during my OBGYN residency. Two weeks before I graduated residency my children’s father committed suicide. I was very sick at that time, and it was the loneliest plane ride to go and get my kids.

I was coughing. I was studying for my medical boards. My sons were still grieving, and I was still studying. I started to have shortness of breath the weekend before my test. Rather than going to the doctor I said, “I have to study. I’m going to prop my bed up, it’s probably sleep apnea.”

Fast forward, and I was diagnosed with lung cancer. I found out by looking at the patient portal because my doctor was not available. I saw Adenocarcinoma of the lung, bronchogenic type. I was like, “Oh my God.”

That was July 3, 2017.

That was three days after I graduated residency which meant that I only had 30 days left of insurance. I had a contract to start my new job. But after I was diagnosed, I got very sick and had to tell my work that I couldn’t start. They said, “Okay. I’m sorry to hear that. Bye.”

The chair of my department called me to the hospital and said, “We’re going to get you set up to be a patient here.” I walked out of the hospital as a doctor and rolled back in as a lung cancer patient.

Every step of the way has been a roadblock in terms of finding resources, finding help, understanding what I could get in the setting of not being eligible for a lot of things that most lung cancer patients get.

Finding My Way Forward

There was a day when I had scans and I was just so alone. My sons had left for UC Davis and UCLA. I didn’t have a partner. I didn’t have a job. I didn’t have the white coat that protected me before. I had lost everything.

Slowly I have reached out and made some connections. I bought a car. When I feel down, I just hop in my car and go driving. I need that. I need to be able to explore my city again in a new way because I’m different.

I joined an ALK+ Facebook group. I connected with Scarlett Gomez. I became a community advisory board member for her Asian-American Never-Smokers (FANS) study. I’m working on a project to create a portal to share the data and lung cancer resources with the community.

When you’re first diagnosed it’s a shock and everything is like a fog. You’re just struggling to get grounded. It took me until now and meeting other lung cancer patients, to process it all. There’s this moment where you’re like: Wait a minute, I’m not just a lung cancer patient. I’m still me. I’m still a human being. I’m still worth it even though everything is different.