#29: Gender Bias in Medicine
The battle with illness is only one front. Often, patients fight another exhausting war – the struggle to be seen and heard by the very system meant to help them. When bias creeps in, diagnosis gets lost in a clouded lens of unfair judgment. It’s disheartening that in our day and age, even access to resources doesn’t always protect against the insidious effects of medical dismissiveness.
Severe spine pain met with eye-rolls and condescending explanations from twenty doctors? Two-zero! The delay of proper diagnosis because of unfair assumptions nearly cost this person their life. When instincts scream something’s amiss, your unwavering advocacy, even in the face of bias and discrimination, might just save your life.