I was diagnosed with lung cancer in April 2024. It was stage 3, though I can’t quite remember the specific subtype. I’ve previously lost my mother to liver cancer and a brother to bowel cancer, but the whole thing came as a surprise. Non-smoker, non-drinker, no drugs - how could this happen?

I had a cough and wheezing before the diagnosis.

I had never smoked in my life. I led a clean life—no alcohol, no drugs, nothing. The diagnosis had certainly surprised me.

My doctor recommended surgery —a lobectomy to remove the entire lobe of my lung. After thinking it over, I decided to trust my doctor’s advice and go through with the surgery. But honestly, the surprise never really went away. I kept wondering, how did I get lung cancer when I’ve been a non-smoker my whole life?

My treatment involved a lot of tests—CT scans, PET scans, lung function tests, and a bronchoscopy. I just had the surgery three weeks back and I’m waiting to see the oncologist who will advise on the next step. I didn’t change my treatment plan during the journey, everything stayed on track.

Luckily, I’ve been able to cover the treatment through my insurance, and it’s subsidized as well.

The fatigue hit me hard. I became housebound and had to depend on my family for many things. I haven’t done much to manage the fatigue.

Life has definitely changed since treatment. Even so, I tried to live a healthy life by adding exercise into my routine.

I was already retired before my diagnosis. For the next two years, I plan to just live day by day. It’s been tough because I’ve felt isolated. Relationships with my loved ones have suffered, and simple things like socializing have become much harder, but I just lived with it.

My biggest fear throughout this whole journey has been the unknown—especially the uncertainty of when pain might strike. I've been taking pain relief, but I’d really like to know when the pain will stop, how long I'll need to rely on these medications, and how I can eventually wean off them.

I’ve always been a non-smoker and lived a clean, healthy lifestyle, so even now, I’m still surprised that I ended up with lung cancer.

I wish that I’d known more information about what to expect after the surgery when I come home. One thing that’s really helped is engaging housecleaning service. Another tip that’s been useful is preparing home-cooked meals ahead of time and freezing them, so there are easy meals during home recovery.

I kept reassuring myself it (having cancer) is something I have to face on my own - to get better and live a normal life. A thought that came to me was, “What cannot be cured has to be endured. That’s life - we have to deal with what is given to us. There is always someone out there who has it worse.”