A review by krwriter8
Doing Harm: The Truth about How Bad Medicine and Lazy Science Leave Women Dismissed, Misdiagnosed, and Sick by Maya Dusenbery

5.0

As someone with lived experience of chronic pain and doctors that dismiss it, nothing in this book surprised me but it was validating to see facts, data and anecdotal evidence to show the massive issues in the medical industry surrounding women's healthcare. The pervasive beliefs (even among female doctors) that any pain related to periods is "normal," that women's complaints of pain are simply somatization (the age old belief of women's hysteria) and that the cause of all health problems in fat people is due to their weight are harmful and lead to delayed diagnosis, prolonged suffering and even extremely damaging effects due to not getting the treatment needed to address ailments that doctors over and over again dismiss. It's also noted that women of color and those living in poverty are even more neglected due to racism and lack of access to specialists. An eye opening read reminding us all to do your own research, advocate for yourself and don't be afraid to seek out second and third opinions, because there's a lot of misinformation and bias among medical professionals.