A disparity in referring female patients to a uro

I have read about many women not getting the attention they needed quickly enough. When I had blood in my urine I was on my period at the time. I am so glad that I could differentiate between the two. Not so many women have been as lucky as I have that way. I was in the hospital emerg the next day.

It took 3 different doctors before I had tests done. I had know idea what was going on when I found gross hematuria. We were getting ready to move and going on vacation so the first Dr. I went to was at a clinic and he said I had a UTI. So off on vacation I go. 2nd Dr. in a town where I was visiting my sister. I was sick, achy, fever, gross hematuria.......treated for UTI. We got to the town we are in now and I go back in with same symptoms and he treats me for a UTI but does blood work but it shows everything is fine? I was due to go back in for a CT scan if blood was still there. I ended up in the ER room with severe pain in abdomen (due to severe endometriosis) CT scan found the large tumor on my kidney. So started the process of getting a Urologist. So I too wish that Dr.s would not just assume it's a UTI or part of my monthly cycle that is causing the bleeding.
This was over a span of 3 months also. Ok that's my story, lol. Didn't mean to go on and on about it.

Barb

Interesting topic. I don't know if I should post here because I had no hematuria. I did have pain and frequency issues, both of which continually increased. Because of my fibromyalgia both my Internist and I thought I had IC. I asked to be referred to a Uro. I was taking the pain meds for my fibro for the bladder pain and my Dr. knew it. She also knew I smoked. When the pain in my bladder became so bad that I needed stronger pain pills, I finally got my referral to a Uro - 6 wks later. Dr. did some tests for IC. 4 wks later looked in bladder. Saw cancer and schedued a TUR. Diagnosis, T1G3 and CIS. I had 6 weeks of BCG, then RC. If I had been referred when pain started, who knows what the diagnosis would have been. Couldn't have been worse. Yes it is the Internist we need to target. Just because more men than women get BC, doesn't mean that we don't get it also. Kathy

I agree that it is a deadly disparity. If I had not insisted on seeing a urologist my primary would have continued to treat me for non existent kidney stones. I had no pain just gross hematuria. The biopsy on my tumor is T3aN1.

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