In October 2019, Taryn Hillin received news from her new OB-GYN that would send a chill down anyone's spine. The doctor, whom Hillin refers to as "Dr. Can't Be Bothered," casually mentioned a two-centimeter tumour on her cervix before leaving the room to take a phone call.
When the doctor returned, a terrified Hillin asked the burning question: "Do I have cancer?" The response was a dismissive assurance. "No, no," the doctor said. "This is not how cancer behaves." She added that for someone of Hillin's age and medical history to have cancer, "it would be like winning the lottery."
A Delayed Diagnosis with Dire Consequences
Despite the radiology report flagging the tumour as "of concern," Dr. Can't Be Bothered insisted there was no rush. She was going on a two-week vacation and her schedule was full, pushing the necessary biopsy back by at least four weeks. Hillin, feeling she was overreacting and intimidated by the doctor's authority, reluctantly agreed to wait.
"She made me feel like I was ignorant of how 'these things work,'" Hillin recalls. However, a deep-seated instinct told her something was gravely wrong. On her drive home, she called her mother and then, sobbing, her former OB-GYN, begging for an urgent appointment.
Her old doctor acted with immediate urgency and compassion. He performed an in-office biopsy without delay. The results were devastating: Hillin had high-grade small-cell neuroendocrine carcinoma, a very rare and aggressive cancer.
Winning the Worst Lottery Imaginable
The diagnosis turned Hillin's world upside down. She required a radical hysterectomy, followed by chemotherapy and radiation. Her imaging initially showed only "local disease," but just five days later, her surgery revealed cancer in a lymph node, placing her at stage 3C.
Her surgical oncologist delivered a stark reality check. "Often patients with neuroendocrine cancer walk in at stage 4 — it's that aggressive," she said. "You're lucky you came when you did." Hillin's odds of survival were a mere 0% to 7%.
Weeks after her surgery, Hillin finally received a call from Dr. Can't Be Bothered's office to schedule the long-delayed biopsy. "Are you kidding me?" she responded. "I'm about to start chemotherapy!"
A Systemic Problem in Women's Healthcare
Hillin's story is not an isolated incident. It underscores a well-documented pattern where women's health concerns are frequently minimized or dismissed in medical settings. Studies show women are more likely to be misdiagnosed for conditions like cardiovascular disease and stroke.
"Women are underdiagnosed for depression, cardiovascular disease and many types of cancer, often seeing multiple doctors and waiting more than a year for a diagnosis," Hillin notes. The problem is exacerbated by a healthcare system where 56% of primary care physicians spend less than 16 minutes with patients, much of that time consumed by bureaucratic tasks.
Hillin emphasizes that her intent is not to vilify individual doctors, but to critique a system that breeds burnout and rushed appointments. "The bureaucratic side of health care is not what doctors signed up for," she writes.
Now cancer-free for two years and called a "miracle" by her oncologist, Hillin's survival hinged on her own advocacy. Had she waited the four weeks as initially instructed, she would likely be dead. Her powerful conclusion is a call to action: "It's your health, and your life. If you have to ruffle a few white-coated feathers, so be it. You're worth it."
