knew something was wrong. For months, she had been experiencing pain along the side of her lower abdomen. A persistent cold with seemingly no remedy plagued her and she had unexplainably gained 20 pounds.
When she went for a medical checkup, the doctor focused on obesity as the cause of her ailments.
He was like, You just hit 30; you gained a bunch of weight, said Neumann, an assistant professor in the in the College of Letters and Science at 51勛圖窪蹋 Davis. I didnt think that was it, but I recognized the fastest path forward was to lose weight, so I lost 25 pounds. I lost more than I had gained.&紳莉莽梯;
The process crystallized it for Neumann: Something was definitely wrong. A large, noticeable protrusion pushed up beneath the skin of her lower abdomen.
The doctors explanation: asymmetric fat loss. Frustrated, Neumann sought a second opinion only to hear the same thing. The diagnoses didnt add up, leading her to seek out other ways to get the care she needed.
The challenge of womens healthcare and misdiagnosis
According to a , women are 66.1% more likely to receive misdiagnoses than men and 65.3% more likely to receive poor quality or unsatisfactory medical care.
How do you self-advocate in the face of doctors? Neumann said. Because I am in medical imaging, I have a Ph.D. and I wasnt listened to.
To get the medical treatment she needed, Neumann scheduled an appointment for an intrauterine device, or IUD, placement. Complications arose during the procedure, prompting an ultrasound to be ordered.
The ultrasound was all Neumann wanted in the first place. She recalled the shock on the technicians face when they saw the results.
They were like, Im just a tech. I cant talk to you about it, but youre just here for an IUD placement?
The next day, a doctor called and informed Neumann that she needed emergency surgery to remove a 15-pound ovarian tumor.
I taught my first class of the quarter knowing that Id need another faculty member to replace me, Neumann said.
Using mass spectrometry to study ovarian cancer
Thankfully, Neumanns surgery was successful. She eventually returned to teaching and research, but the ordeal she went through to obtain a proper diagnosis partly inspired a new research project for .
An analytical chemist, Neumann specializes in using advanced mass spectrometry tools to achieve high-precision chemical measurements and high-resolution imaging for the study of biological phenomena, such as cancer and Alzheimers disease. By combining various imaging techniques to analyze a single sample, from a single organelle to whole-body systems, the team can .&紳莉莽梯;
Neumann and her colleagues accomplish this by using a powerful mass spectrometer called the , which Neumann helped develop during her postdoc years.
A new approach to early detection of ovarian cancer
In collaboration with , a 51勛圖窪蹋 Davis associate professor of biomedical engineering, Neumann is applying her instruments analyzation techniques to study ovarian cancer. Specifically, shes studying nanoparticles known as extracellular vesicles, or EVs. These molecules can range from 30 to 100 nanometers in size.
A tumor cell ends up spewing all of these EVs and its hypothesized that EVs are involved in things like metastasis, Neumann said. What we hypothesize is that the chemical constituents of these EVs probably match the host cell that they come from.&紳莉莽梯;
Neumann and her colleagues have found that EVs and their parent tumor cells share certain chemical signatures.
What were trying to understand is, can we use this to actually do early diagnostics as well as organ tracing of where a tumor might occur? she said. Were trying to make a blood-based test that you can do without the need of an ultrasound.&紳莉莽梯;
Why advocacy matters in womens health
Neumanns experience has inspired her to be vocal on the issues women face when it comes to receiving proper medical care.
Earlier diagnostics are great, but if theyre not something a woman can pursue by themselves, were not solving the problem, she said. The problem is that doctors dont listen to women.&紳莉莽梯;
She discusses these topics with her students and is a proponent of self-advocacy.
Women shouldnt be afraid to self-advocate, she said. People always dont want to make a big deal out of nothing, but its okay to insist on something even if the result is negative. The negative result is preferred.&紳莉莽梯;
She also urged physicians to practice compassion and empathy with their patients. Neumann recalled that the first surgeon she consulted for her procedure recommended removing both of her ovaries in a cavalier way. Neumann, who wants to one day start a family, didnt think the topic was handled with care.
As with her diagnosis experience, Neumann sought another opinion. The surgeon she eventually selected only had to remove one ovary.
She tested my other ovary and it was healthy, Neumann said. She was wonderful.&紳莉莽梯;