Her Male Doctor Dismissed It As A UTI — It Turned Out To Be Cancer

Stories of medical misogyny — women struggling to have their voices heard in medical settings — are far too common. For one woman, this reality nearly cost her her life.

Women being dismissed by global healthcare professionals is not unusual, but studies have found that the issue is particularly prevalent in cities like Hong Kong, where traditional gender roles and hierarchies persist. Here, stories of women facing misogyny from healthcare providers (both male and female) are commonplace even within Team Sassy — from one team member’s extreme stomach pains being dismissed as Gastroenteritis (she had ovarian cysts) to another being shamed as “out of shape” when in reality she was experiencing asthma attacks. Thankfully, those cases were resolved, but what happens when a woman is ignored for too long?

In this interview, we’ll be deep diving into how medical misogyny can have grave, even fatal, consequences: a woman in her late 50s who has been based in Hong Kong for over a decade (her name has been changed) shares her harrowing experience with medical misogyny in hopes that her story will inspire others to advocate for themselves.

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It’s all in your head

One afternoon, Rose visited the A&E at a renowned Hong Kong hospital that’s popular among expats. An otherwise healthy woman (a lifelong vegetarian with no prior illnesses), she was alarmed by recent back pain and multiple days of discoloured urine. The doctor on call at the emergency department met with her quickly, but the consultation took an unexpected turn.

“He said I was ‘too slim’ and likely an exercise addict, and that my back pain must be from ‘too many workouts’.” Rose was taken aback by the implication that her symptoms were caused by a psychological disorder, and “frankly bemused” by the assumption that she was exercise-obsessed. She corrected the doctor, explaining that her fitness routine was normal — even a bit on the lazy side, as she was a working woman who rarely found time during the week to exercise.

Receiving a misdiagnosis

Instead of taking her concerns seriously, the doctor jumped to yet another conclusion: that Rose had a urinary tract infection (UTI).

The doctor insisted despite Rose’s disbelief, and she left the consultation. At reception, she was presented with a bill that listed “UTI” as the diagnosis. “I immediately asked if they were going to run labs,” she said. “They said no and told me to return in two weeks if my symptoms persisted.” Angry, she demanded the bill be amended to reflect her actual symptoms: back pain and discoloured urine.

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Getting a second opinion — from a woman

While Rose was discouraged by her initial medical experience, she felt no improvement and began to worry. Knowing in her bones that something was wrong, she decided to drop off a urine sample at her general practitioner’s office — a woman, Dr. Dianna Cooke — while she was in the area for a meeting. Remarkably, before she even left the building, Dr. Cooke called Rose on her personal number. “It was a completely contrasting experience,” she explained.

After patiently questioning Rose about her symptoms, the doctor proceeded with the appropriate tests. They revealed a devastating diagnosis: stage 4 terminal metastatic cancer. The scans left no doubt, and there was no time to waste. Within days, she connected Rose to Hong Kong’s top specialists and helped her arrange the appropriate oncology appointments.

A message to other women

Rose says her experience taught her two crucial lessons: first, never trust an “expert” over your own instincts about your body — “Everyone makes mistakes. Get a second, third or fourth opinion if you need it”.

Second, if you are a woman, develop a trusting relationship with your GP — male or female, knowing that your doctor sees, hears and respects you “can literally be the difference between life and death”.

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