All in Her Head: The Truth and Lies Early Medicine Taught Us about Women’s Bodies and Why it Matters TodayDr. Elizabeth Comen, a breast cancer specialist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital, explores how the medical field has historically ignored and dismissed women’s health concerns. From misdiagnosing serious conditions to overlooking unique ways illnesses present in female patients, the book exposes the systemic biases ingrained in a traditionally male-dominated profession.
“I’m conducting some additional training at the moment because it’s been a while since I have,” Dr. Sulagna Misra, MD and founder of, candidly admits. “Even though we physicians are professionally trained, none of us get properly trained in women’s health.” “We don’t get the ‘classic’ chest pain,” Dr. Misra points out about cardiovascular health. “We get the arm pain, back pain, indigestion, and other things, but those symptoms are too frequently ignored or misdiagnosed as something else entirely.”, “is that many physicians are not specifically trained for the illnesses they often treat. Also, they don’t always admit when they’re not capable of treating a person.
Even more pernicious is the way these negative experiences can erode a woman’s sense of safety and silence her voice entirely. Without that crucial foundation of feeling heard and validated, many women remain trapped and unable to advocate for themselves.