This non-fiction text written by Susan Salenger explores a variety of themes related to the challenges women face when accessing medical care, as well as strategies and resources which can empower readers to successfully combat these challenges.
The book is fairly short, and is divided into 7 chapters covering topics which include: putting our children and partners' needs before our own, power differentials between female patients and doctors, the impact of different symptoms, medications and other medical differences for female vs male bodies, and the relationship between body and mental health (and the impact of "it's all in your head" thoughts or comments). The strategies in each section are straight forward, easy to understand and directly relate to the problems addressed in that chapter. The facts, statistics and examples or case studies give a good, strong base for developing understanding of the problems and why they need to be addressed.
There were a few quotes or facts that I highlighted and wanted to look back on. In this section I will discuss some of those ideas.
"... a survey conducted by the American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association that found that of the thirty-seven million women who suffer from autoimmune diseases, 45% we labeled chronic complainers when they attempted to get an accurate diagnosis." (Introduction, Salenger). This is shocking, yet not surprising. Almost half of women with autoimmune diseases are labeled or not believed when they have a disease that is more common in women and hard to diagnose, it's terrible and shocking that this happens, but I am not surprised that it happens. As someone who has an autoimmune disease that is genetic and multiple people in my family were diagnosed with (and some saw the same family doctor as me), it took getting a new family doctor for me to finally be going through the process of proper diagnosis. If women are being told that their symptoms are not valid, they will probably stop seeking support or diagnosis, and that could be a very dangerous situation.
"Dr. Brody believes that good communication is the single most important secret to feeling better." (Chapter 4, Salenger). I think this quote was really interesting and an important reminder. If we feel that we are not being heard by our doctors or we aren't able to fully communicate our concerns, we may be reluctant to self-advocate and we may become more anxious of doctors. I feel super nervous about physicals or appointments because I'm worried I wont be heard or will be misunderstood by my doctor. My new doctor is much easier to communicate with than my previous doctor, but fears and memories of stress from past experiences are hard to leave in the waiting room.
"Today, if little Miss Muffet were happily eating a snack on her tuffet until a spider scared her away, she may well be diagnosed with arachnophobia, prescribed anti-anxiety medication, or advised to undergo some intensive exposure therapy" (Chapter 6, Salenger). I had to laugh at this. It really just shows how women can be over-diagnosed and misunderstood.
The only thing that would have made this book a 5 star for me, was I wished it was a bit longer and covered a few more content areas! The writing was so great, and the content that was covered was well done, I just felt like it ended too quickly! It was definitely an interesting and informative read and I got a lot of great facts to add to my back pocket for dinner party conversations. It also gave me a lot to consider when it comes to my own health needs and the needs of those who I care about. I also appreciated the focus on lots of illnesses that predominantly affect women more than men, such as gynaecological or reproductive issues and autoimmune diseases.
I would definitely recommend this book for anyone who wants to better understand the challenges women face in the medical system as well as validating their own experiences accessing care. Thanks to Voracious Readers, Booksprout and Katie and Brey PA for giving me the chance to read and review this book!
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