Health service misogyny left me in serious pain

'Health service misogyny left me in serious pain'3 hours agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleMartin HeathHertfordshire political reporterMartin Heath/BBCRachel says society has a problem with misogyny when it deals with health problemsA woman who was in serious pain from a suspected ovarian cyst said her condition went undiagnosed because of "medical misogyny".Rachel from Hertford said the serious pain she was in was dismissed by health professionals who wanted her to "just get on with it".She has met Health Secretary Wes Streeting to discuss the issue.The Department of Health said the NHS had "let women and girls down for too long".Rachel, who does not want the BBC to use her surname, said an indentation in her abdomen had been picked up during a regular colonoscopy for another condition.She had experienced some pain before the procedure, but it got much worse as a "great big mound" appeared in her abdomen.Her husband took her to hospital, where doctors performed a CT scan which picked up free fluid in the abdominal area.Rachel suggested the indentation in her abdomen might have been an ovarian cyst, and a doctor agreed but took no further action.After she was discharged from the hospital, the pain became more acute and Rachel developed the symptoms of a fever.She returned to hospital, where she explained her concerns about an ovarian cyst, and a doctor tried to refer her to the gynaecological team but was told to send her to the general surgery department instead.'Not anyone's patient'After a CT scan and a night in hospital, the pain had got worse and new symptoms, such as diarrhoea, started to occur.She was told the problem was inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and was referred to the gastroenterology department, who rejected the IBD diagnosis.Rachel said: "All I kept hearing was, 'You're not an emergency patient, you're not a gastro-patient, you're not a surgical patient&#...