Dr. Elizabeth Comen is a board-certified oncologist at NYU Langone Health, co-director of the Mignoni Women's Health Collaborative, and author of the groundbreaking book "All In Her Head: The Truth and Lies Early Medicine Taught Us About Women's Bodies and Why It Matters Today." In this powerful conversation about medical gaslighting and women's healthcare, she and Dr. Mary Claire Haver trace the deep roots and reveal why the healthcare system still dismisses women's symptoms today. Dr. Comen shares the story of a breast cancer patient on her deathbed who, hours from death, apologized for sweating during a hug. It's a moment that captures what nearly every woman experiences in a doctor's office, the reflexive apology for being in a normal human body. Whether it's apologizing for leg hair in stirrups or hiding underwear during an exam, women have internalized tremendous shame about their bodies. Dr. Comen explains this isn't random. It's the legacy of a medical system built by men who dismissed women's pain and symptoms as hysteria, neurosis, or anxiety. Drawing on medical history, Dr. Comen explains how this gaslighting became embedded in healthcare. She discusses William Osler, a founder of cardiology, who dismissed women’s chest pain as “neurotic angina,” despite heart disease being the leading killer of women. Women are more likely to call an ambulance for their husband than for themselves, and are far more likely to be misdiagnosed with panic attacks when seeking care for chest pain. Dr. Haver and Dr. Comen also explore systemic gaps across medicine: why most autoimmune diseases affect women yet aren’t treated as a women’s health issue, why female-specific surgeries are reimbursed at lower rates than male procedures, why Alzheimer's disease is twice as common in women but received almost no research funding, and how women’s sexual health continues to be dismissed in oncology. They also touch on historical myths like “bicycle face” and the origins of plastic surgery as a tool to make women “marriageable” rather than healthy. The conversation concludes on a hopeful note, marking a shift in women’s healthcare and a call for women to stop apologizing and start demanding better care. Guest links: * Dr. Elizabeth Comen https://www.drelizabethcomen.com/ * Dr. Elizabeth Comen (Instagram) https://www.instagram.com/drelizabethcomen/ * Dr. Elizabeth Comen (LinkedIn) https://www.linkedin.com/in/drelizabethcomen/ * Dr. Elizabeth Comen, MD (NYU) https://nyulangone.org/doctors/1245483270/elizabeth-comen Books: * “All in Her Head: The Truth and Lies Early Medicine Taught Us About Women’s Bodies and Why It Matters Today,” by Dr. Elizabeth Comen https://www.amazon.com/All-Her-Head-Medicine-Matters/dp/0063293013 * “The New Menopause,” by Dr. Mary Claire Haver https://www.amazon.com/New-Menopause-Navigating-Through-Hormonal/dp/059379625X * “The New Perimenopause: An Evidence-Based Guide to Surviving the Zone of Chaos and Feeling Like Yourself Again,” by Dr. Mary Claire Haver https://www.amazon.com/New-Perimenopause-Evidence-Based-Surviving-Yourself/dp/0593736613 For full show notes, please visit: https://bit.ly/unPAUSEDDrElizabethComen Never miss an episode—sign up for The ’Pause Life Newsletter: https://thepauselife.com/pages/newsletter Medical Disclaimer: The information, including opinions and recommendations, on this platform is meant for informational and educational purposes only. Mary Claire Media, LLC, the unPAUSED podcast, and The ’Pause Life are not medical organizations. Medical advice or medical diagnosis cannot be provided to you through the platform, any associated website, or customer portals. Using this platform does not establish a patient-physician relationship.