Survivor Spotlight: I'm Still Worth It
August 6, 2020
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 ForwardThere 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.
Lung cancer questions? Contact our free HelpLine at support@go2.org or 1-800-298-2436.