What we can all learn from Florence Pugh’s decision to freeze her eggs

A recent account by Academy Award-winning actress Florence Pugh is a sobering reminder that even with extraordinary levels of fame and resources, women overwhelmingly lack basic tools to understand our own bodies, and overall health.

After experiencing some difficult-to-place symptoms, Pugh visited a doctor who suggested she undergo an egg count test—an unusual recommendation for someone who is only 27. The test ultimately led to a diagnosis of both polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and endometriosis. Pugh was reportedly shocked, but also relieved — it finally made sense, she told her doctor Dr. Thaïs Aliabadi on “SHE MD” podcast that Aliabadi hosts with Mary Alice Haney. For years, Pugh had dealt with symptoms such as unusual hair growth and acne, which she attributed to “being a woman” with a “slightly stressful life.” Turns out it wasn’t all in her head.

In the same podcast episode, Pugh described the diagnosis as a “stunning realization.” Suddenly she was forced to think about her future and her fertility, something she had assumed she had nearly a decade to consider. She was advised to freeze her eggs and she followed through and is now sharing her story to encourage other women to take charge of their reproductive health and lives.

When I froze my eggs and documented the process to Armchair Expert’s “Run to 35,” I was struck by how difficult it was to get clear answers about my own body, and how much of the responsibility fell on me to figure it all out. I was sent home with a collection of hormones and needles and expected to adhere to a strict regimen and compounding schedule with the warning that one mistake could ruin the entire process. The mental toll of the whole ordeal felt more taxing than the physical toll it took to inject myself every day and get blood tests and transvaginal ultrasounds every 72 hours.

I remember thinking that if men were to freeze their eggs, the service would include a personal nurse, a therapist, a chef, a driver and probably a life coach. The potential for error and the high stakes involved were staggering, especially given the often prohibitive cost of the procedure. Why are women expected to know so much with so little support?

Part of it is social conditioning. Women are so often seen as caretakers, not those to be cared for. The data reflects this patriarchal misunderstanding. Women are more likely to be misdiagnosed than menand their disorders receive less research funding. Endometriosis, the condition that affects Pugh and a estimated 1 in 10 women globallyis a stark example of gender differences in medical research. A McKinsey report found that erectile dysfunction, despite being far less common, receives six times more research funding than endometriosis. From 2019 to 2023, erectile dysfunction was allocated $1.24 billion, while endometriosis received 44 million dollars. This is infuriating given that endometriosis has far more life-threatening effects (it can cause ectopic pregnancies, intestinal obstruction and even cancer) and that it affects a larger proportion of the population. In short, our priorities do not reflect our needs.

And let’s be clear – the problem is not men; it is the patriarchy. Women’s symptoms are disproportionately dismissed as psychosomatic, leading to a systemic lack of belief and trust in their own accounts of their health. This bias is not limited to male doctors; female doctors can also maintain it. Pugh, for example, she said faced dismissal from a female doctor in the UK. when she brought up her diagnosis. While studies show women are less likely to die under the care of female doctorsthe reality is that even women in medicine may underestimate or overlook female painreflecting the wider cultural tendency to belittle it. And this is far worse for women of colorwhose pain is ignored to an even greater extent and can lead to far more serious consequences for them.

So how do we fix this?

According to Dr. Elizabeth Comen, associate professor of medicine at NYU Langone and author of the book “All in her head: The truth and lies Early medicine taught us about women’s bodies and why it matters today”, the most important step women can take is to find a mate. “I don’t care if you are Einstein; you have to have someone with you to speak for you,” she told me over the phone. “When you’re worried and anxious, you need that support to help filter the information into context.”

Dr. Comen also emphasized the need to remove the specific but universal shame women often feel about not knowing how to defend themselves, despite being often so adept at speaking up for others. “Whether it’s homeless women, royalty or the heads of hedge funds, every woman has that story. Women can find sisterhood in that shared experience,” she said. “This work cannot be done alone.”

If it happened to Florence Pugh, it can happen to anyone. While we wait for our culture and medical establishment to catch up, women leaning on each other isn’t just support; it is a quiet revolution.

This article was originally published on MSNBC.com