Meet Dr. Tom Hudson

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Dr. Tom Hudson. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Dr. Tom below.

Dr. Tom, we sincerely appreciate you joining us today and agreeing to talk about some very personal topics. So, to kick things off, let’s talk about a tough one – divorce. Can you talk to us about how you overcame divorce?

I married my high school sweetheart, and after four children and 18 years of marriage found myself divorced. It seemed to make sense on one level, but on another, I wasn’t sure how all that really happened. We were both committed to the kids so saw each other all the time at kids events, switching custody back and forth, holidays together, etc. and provided as stable an environment for the kids as we could. Personally, I just started asking myself questions: How did this happen? What should/could I have done differently? How do I need to change? And before long I had a spiritual awakening. I thought I knew what spirituality was before that but I really didn’t. It was more like a theory. At any rate, it changed how I saw the world and myself, and gave me a larger perspective on how the world really works in terms of cause and effect. And after about five years, when the kids mother and I had done a lot of inner work (separately), and finding ourselves both still single, we both kind of wondered what we were doing, and thought we might have more tools to make a better go of it. So, we remarried, and have been together the second time now for 25 years, so I guess it’s going to work. I guess we did a good job of co-parenting during those times, because the kids (now adults) barely remember any of that. So, to sum up, I guess I overcame divorce by looking inward, not shying away from the hard questions, and being willing to “do the work,” which is what I think life is all about anyway.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

I am a diagnostic radiologist (an MD) who specializes in breast cancer diagnosis. Part way through my career I developed a more holistic, mind/body/spirit approach to life (and my work). I am also on the faculty of the Center for Mind Body Medicine in Washington, DC. I always look for opportunities to educate people, mostly women, that breast cancer is a potentially preventable disease through healthy lifestyle choices. I authored a book, Journey to Hope: Leaving the Fear of Breast Cancer Behind, to educate people about just that. Because of my work with CMBM, I am also used to helping women deal with their emotions/fears, on anything really, but usually either a breast cancer diagnosis, or breast imaging dilemmas where they FEAR they might get it, but are confused by the medical diagnostic system. I do phone or zoom consultations for women to review their imaging tests, and help them make decisions on how to go forward. I am also a spiritual writer, and have recently authored Something Deeper, which is a collections of my daily reflections on the human condition, spirituality, and how to most effectively live life. I also am beginning to do more public speaking, and plan to publish more books. In 2025 I plan to rebrand and republish an updated version of Journey to Hope, and have other non-medical books in the pipeline.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

I would say the three qualities that have allowed me to be where I am today, are, curiosity, a love of learning, and keeping an open mind. I think these are generally innate qualities that someone either has or they don’t. But I would also say, that it’s easy to allow a system (like the conventional medical system) to keep you under a blanket as it were, in terms of defining your reality fo you. There is often a subtle (or not so subtle) price to pay for not drinking the kool aid, and being willing to think differently. So, sometimes we can stay stuck somewhere for quite some time. But my advice to people, is that, at the end of the day, you have to be who you are, and the personal price is too high to let someone else tell you who you are or what you should believe.

What would you advise – going all in on your strengths or investing on areas where you aren’t as strong to be more well-rounded?

I think it is definitely better to always be investing effort to improve areas of weakness, and to be more well-rounded. It’s no problem for us to work on our strengths. That’s what we naturally want to do. And they can take us far. But, eventually, if we are unbalanced, our strengths will become a weakness, guaranteed. I have heard the saying, “Your talents will take you to a place where only your character can keep you. Which I strongly believe, and why I am always trying to work on and improve my character. Life is endlessly interesting, and the more well-rounded I am, the more different aspects I get to experience and enjoy.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://thomashudsonmd.com