"A study in the New England Journal of Medicine found that women were seven times more likely to be misdiagnosed and discharged in the middle of having a heart attack. Why? Because the medical concepts of most diseases are based on an understanding of male physiology, and women have altogether different symptoms than men when having a heart attack. Women also have to wait longer to be seen by health care professionals, receive less pain medication,"
"Though no other doctor had suggested this to me, I had considered it. Some of the other women in my family - my mother, my cousins - have had hysterectomies in their 40s. One of my aunts died at only 49 after a battle with uterine and ovarian cancer. My uterus and ovaries felt like ticking time bombs: What was I waiting for? My child-bearing years had passed. My two daughters are teens now. I want to be alive to raise them."
Women often experience dismissal of their pain, leading to misdiagnoses, delayed care, and undertreatment. A major study found women were far more likely to be misdiagnosed and discharged during heart attacks because medical models rely on male physiology and women present different symptoms. A clinician biopsied benign polyps and then raised hysterectomy as an option given ongoing pain, blood loss, and a strong family cancer history. Relatives had early hysterectomies and an aunt died of uterine and ovarian cancer, prompting concern. Insurance approved a minimally invasive removal of ovaries and uterus after a second opinion. The final day with reproductive organs was emotional after IVF and many egg retrievals.
Read at BuzzFeed
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