A Teal Ribbon and Health Insurance/Care Bias
My high school best friend died on October 18, 2013. She was 43 and had ovarian cancer.
For a couple years before her Stage IV diagnosis, she would go to the doctor; complaining of pain, over the top cramping, and breakthrough bleeding. Each time, she was told it was "woman troubles," handed a prescription for BC pills, "stretching exercises," etc. At any one of those visits for "woman troubles," this disease, this silent killer of women, could have been caught. But it wasn't. September was Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. There were no football players in teal. No boxes of Cheerios done up in blue on the shelves of the grocery store. There was really nothing, except for a few of my friends changing their facebook profile pictures to teal ribbons.
Reading some of the posts about a "bias" against men in the new ACA law and on Healthcare.gov reminded me of a time I forced my husband to go to the doctor. He was having, let's call it "man troubles" (it turned out to be a bladder infection). However, not once did the doctor label it "man troubles." Instead, the doctor did a full blood work up and was ready to schedule him for a cystoscopy before that urine sample came back with blood in it.
I get to thinking about how many of us women have received a diagnosis that is "just women's troubles," or "well, seeing as your period is due..." or "when you get to this age we're pretty sure it's menopause," and that's where your visit ends. With a script for BC pills or hormone therapy.
Men? How many times has your doctor related your honest concerns to "man troubles?"
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