‘I developed ovarian cancer after my symptoms were dismissed as menopause’
A woman has said her ovarian cancer diagnosis was delayed after her symptoms were wrongly dismissed as menopause or irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) – accusing her doctor of misogyny and medically gaslighting her.
Sbba Siddique, a 55-year-old business owner, told The Independent that “unconscious bias and cultural incompetence” were also to blame for her delayed diagnosis.
Ms Siddique, who lives in Berkshire, said she began to feel unwell around October 2021 but did not get diagnosed with late-stage ovarian cancer until March the following year.
“I was feeling really tired all the time. I had no energy. I was piling on weight that wasn’t there previously despite not changing my eating habits. I was needing to wee more,” the mother of three recalled.
“I was going back and forth with my GP trying to get an appointment. I couldn’t get a face-to-face – every consultation was on the phone or via online forms. That was part of the problem of the misdiagnosis.”
Her GP was “very dismissive” of her symptoms and attributed them to IBS or the menopause, she added.
“At the end of the day, I’m not the expert, the GP is – I believed him,” she said.
Source: The Independent, 14 July 2024