Oprah Winfrey has opened up about her experiences with the American healthcare system, claiming that despite her privileged, celebrity status, she is still affected by issues that affect so many others.
Referencing her thyroid problem, the billionaire spoke candidly about misdiagnoses, racial inequality and inappropriate remarks from doctors, which have resulted in her believing "you need multiple opinions", adding that she "would never go into a hospital by myself".
Speaking to the Los Angeles Times, Oprah began by acknowledging her celebrity privilege, stating: "Things change for you when you are a person who is known. You get the doctor's appointment. You don't have to wait in line. You don't have to deal with a lot of excess delays that other people have.
"And so I have lived this life of privilege and advantage, and then been exposed to the best of healthcare."
Oprah revealed, however, that she suffered from heart palpations for a year during which time she sought the opinions of five doctors, none of whom were able to establish a correct diagnosis.
The mogul said she eventually saw a thyroid specialist, who despite knowing who she was, told her: "Well, young lady, you are just going to have to embrace hunger, otherwise you're going to gain a lot a lot of weight."
The inappropriate remark led the 68-year old to the opinion that "you need multiple opinions and you need somebody advocating for you."
"I don't care who you are. I would never go into a hospital by myself," she explained.
"Even as a person of note, with a name, I would never go into a hospital by myself. I would always have somebody go with me who's advocating for me.
"That's a hard, hard road to navigate by yourself, especially if you're ill."
She added that it completely changed the way she viewed patient-doctor relationships.
"I did multiple shows (about) people speaking up to their doctors and being able to feel like you are an equal partner with them in securing the best health treatment for yourself. That you need them and they need you to help them understand what's actually going on with you," she said.
Oprah was speaking ahead of the release of her documentary "The Colour of Care" centred around racial inequalities within the health system.
It explores challenges within the healthcare system particularly during the coronavirus pandemic, and among families of colour who lost loved ones who were trying to access care before they died.
"As we continued to hear how the racial disparities in our country were exacerbated by the effects of the pandemic, I felt something needed to be done," she added.
The documentary will be free to watch on Smithsonian Channel's Facebook and YouTube accounts throughout May.
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