From Fortune Magazine:

When Phyllisa Deroze was diagnosed with diabetes, she was initially given the wrong diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes. It took her years to finally get the correct diagnosis of LADA, a different form of diabetes that can be misdiagnosed as Type 2, especially among Black patients. They are often denied proper treatment and medication, raising questions about the role of race in health care. It’s harder for women of color to advocate for their medical needs as they risk being perceived as aggressive, disrespectful, or know-it-alls. Lynn Scherschel was living in a high-rise apartment in downtown Chicago and working for the federal government when she was diagnosed with diabetes. At age 34, her condition worsened. Scherschel’s doctor diagnosed her with Type 2 diabetes, but he told her she had some unusual antibodies in her system. He predicted that her disease would be harder to manage than standard Type 2. Phyllisa Deroze was 25 years old when a disturbing pattern emerged in her family: One by one, the women developed diabetes. First her aunt, then her mother and finally her big sister. Despite their efforts to eat healthfully, a condition caused most of them to gain weight and suffer with sky-high blood sugar levels. Deroze had seen it all growing up. And still her diabetes diagnosis at a North Carolina emergency room came as a shock.



Read more: These patients had to lobby for correct diabetes diagnoses. Was their race a reason?