{"id":13760,"date":"2023-04-02T17:44:02","date_gmt":"2023-04-02T14:44:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kapa3.gr\/?p=13760"},"modified":"2023-04-02T17:44:15","modified_gmt":"2023-04-02T14:44:15","slug":"women-less-satisfied-with-cancer-care","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kapa3.gr\/en\/women-less-satisfied-with-cancer-care\/","title":{"rendered":"Women Less Satisfied With Cancer Care"},"content":{"rendered":"

WHEN STEPHANIE RIVERA\u2019S DOCTOR DISCOVERED THYROID NODULES<\/strong>\u00a0during a routine exam in 2019, she began getting yearly thyroid ultrasound monitoring. She was told that 95% of the time these nodules are benign, but that she should watch for symptoms. \u201cMy doctor said if anything changes\u2014if my voice changes or if I have trouble swallowing\u2014I should come in sooner than my annual check-up,\u201d says Rivera, 54, CEO of the Lazarex Cancer Foundation, which focuses on breaking barriers to health care for marginalized communities.<\/em><\/p>\n

In April 2022, when Rivera began to experience unusual hoarseness five months before her scheduled annual thyroid ultrasound, she called her doctor as directed. But instead of getting an expedited appointment, \u201cI was told, \u2018Everything is fine. Just come back in August when you\u2019re supposed to,\u2019\u201d Rivera says. When her hoarseness continued, Rivera called her doctor\u2019s office again, and the medical staff relayed the same message: \u201cJust come back in August.\u201d<\/p>\n

After that August check-up, however, Rivera was diagnosed with thyroid cancer that had spread to her lymph nodes. Rivera felt validated but remorseful. \u201cStatistically, I wasn\u2019t supposed to have thyroid cancer that has metastasized, but I knew my body. I should have called a third time and said, \u2018This hoarseness is different. I need to come in now just to make sure everything is OK,\u2019\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Rivera is far from alone in having her cancer symptoms dismissed. According to a recent American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN)\u00a0survey<\/a>\u00a0involving 1,236 patients with cancer and survivors who have been diagnosed or treated within the past seven years, women were twice as likely as men (6% vs. 3%) to have reported symptoms five or more times before getting a diagnosis. For patients diagnosed after experiencing symptoms (as opposed to those diagnosed after screening), women were less likely than men to report that their symptoms were taken very seriously (31% vs. 21%) or taken seriously \u201cat all\u201d (8% vs. 1%).<\/p>\n

\u201cThese small survey numbers echo a bigger trend women may be experiencing throughout their cancer journey: that physicians are not listening to them,\u201d says Sarah Long, ACS CAN project manager for survey administration and analysis. \u201cThe fact that women, in particular, were going to physicians repeatedly and saying repeatedly, \u2018I have these symptoms,\u2019 and those symptoms were not taken seriously is an issue.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Having initial cancer symptoms dismissed may especially be a problem for younger, healthy-looking women who don\u2019t fit the profile of what doctors believe to be a typical cancer patient, Long says. According to ACS CAN survey respondents, physicians are apt to chalk up younger patients\u2019 symptoms, such as feeling tired, to having a stressful job or a too-busy life, when, in fact, after pushing for follow-up appointments and additional testing, many of these women are eventually diagnosed with cancer.<\/p>\n

\u201cWomen are having to say, \u2018No, this isn\u2019t normal for me\u2019 over and over again,\u201d<\/strong> says Kirsten Sloan, managing director of public policy at ACS CAN. \u201cWhat we\u2019re concerned about are those women who don\u2019t say it over again, who just accept what their doctor says, rather than pushing for more testing. If it is cancer, they later find out it could have been diagnosed and treated sooner, with potentially a more favorable prognosis.\u201d<\/p>\n

Who is to blame? \u201cIt\u2019s not the fault of the doctor. It\u2019s the high-pressure system doctors find themselves in. The models of care are not as patient centered as they need to be,\u201d<\/strong> Sloan says. \u201cIf you\u2019ve only got a 15-minute visit, you don\u2019t have much time to figure out which symptoms don\u2019t make sense for the patient\u2019s life.\u201d<\/p>\n

If You Feel Something, Say Something Again and Again<\/h4>\n

Still, there is no time to wait for the system to change, if it ever does. \u201cAs health care consumers, we need to educate ourselves about the symptoms to look for, make sure we\u2019re doing our routine screenings so things are caught early, and be really good advocates for ourselves,\u201d<\/strong> says Sloan. \u201cWe also need to find a doctor who listens in the way we need to be listened to.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Rivera, who has worked directly with doctors on various levels at major health care networks for more than 30 years, has learned a lot about herself from her experience being diagnosed with thyroid cancer. \u201cIf this can happen to me, it can happen to anyone,\u201d she says. \u201cI trusted my doctor. And, apparently, I trusted him very much. What I didn\u2019t trust was myself enough to say: \u2018I know my body, and something is different. I need to be seen now for peace of mind.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Rivera says pushing back is not in her comfort zone. Insisting on being heard by your doctor or your clinical care team can feel like talking back to the teacher or your boss. Still, when something doesn\u2019t feel right, your life can depend on it. \u201cThe lesson I learned is that my voice about my body is a top priority,\u201d Rivera says.<\/p>\n

Women Less Satisfied With Cancer Care<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n