Oral History of Bichlien Nguyen

Oral History with Dr. BichLien Nguyen, born in Saigon, Vietnam in 1954. She is currently an oncologist practicing in Orange County, California. Her interview focused on her memories of going to pharmacy school in Saigon, being the eldest in her family and taking care of her mother who suffered from cancer. She left Vietnam by boat with her family and passed through Guam and the Philippines before resettling in Albuquerque, New Mexico through the sponsorship of a Lutheran Church. She met and married her husband, another Vietnamese refugee, in Albuquerque and then they moved to Orange County where she completed her undergraduate degree and medical school at UC Irvine. She has two children. She co-founded the Vietnamese American Cancer Foundation in 2002. At the time of interview she continues to participate actively in community life in Orange County.