Have you ever felt ignored or brushed aside by your doctor? If you're a woman, the answer is probably yes. Many women report their health conditions and symptoms have been overlooked or that it took years to get an accurate diagnosis. It’s a real, pervasive and harmful problem for female patients. For TODAY's new Dismissed series on women's health, we asked women to share their stories.

"I had a small brown spot on my right temple that my doctor told me for a year was just cosmetic. The doctor told me I didn’t need to worry about it and ignored me every time I brought it up. After it became red around the edges and began to swell, I demanded a dermatologist referral. I was diagnosed with desmoplastic melanoma.”
Michelle, 33, Livermore, Calif.

“I was told I was too young for cancer, and no one took it seriously until a lump was fairly large. I was diagnosed with stage 3C HER2+ breast cancer at age 26.”
Staci, 28, N.Y.

“After giving birth, I hemorrhaged multiple times, went to the hospital and was sent home twice, thinking it was all in my head. The same doctor tried to send me home a third time. I begged for one more ultrasound, which found that I had a retained placenta. The hemorrhaging wouldn't stop without surgery. I am thankful every day that I trusted my instincts instead of believing it was normal like the doctor insisted.”
April, 38, Brooklyn Park, Minn.