Endometriosis. A word most of us
hadn’t heard of until recent years.
In fact, when I was diagnosed with
endometriosis 11-years ago it was
so unknown that there were only 5
surgeons, nationwide that
“specialized” in the disease and
spent their careers understanding
and excising it.
Endometriosis is a benign gynecological
disorder that affects about
10% of women of reproductive age
– or about 6.5 million women in
the United States. There are 3
types - superficial, ovarian, and
deep infiltrating endometriosis. I
was diagnosed with deep infiltrating
endometriosis in 2008 at just
28-years old. DIE (yes, the medical
acronym for the disease is…
DIE) is typically associated with
more severe pain and infertility
issues, however, all 3 types are associated
with pain, infertility, irregular
menstruation and excessive
bleeding.
Here is the real tragedy- In patients
with endometriosis, diagnosis is
commonly made 7 to 9 years after
the initial pelvic pain presentation.
This means, we still have a lot of
work to do in terms of awareness,
advocacy and education. So, on
behalf of the strong women who
fight against such a formidable opponent,
here is my open letter to
endometriosis.
Dear Endo, In honor of "Your"
Awareness Month—March, I
thought it would be appropriate to
write you a letter. Truth be told, I
had planned on crafting a great
piece of hate mail making you
aware of how you have ruined my
life and the lives of so many undeserving
women around the world.
How you have ravaged our bodies
with pain, emotionally abused us,
and stripped us of everything that
makes us women.
Then...I thought about it...I think
we can all agree that this world is
brimming with enough hate and
frankly, the women you've affected
are anything BUT victims, so why
paint them as such? No, instead, I
4—iPain Living Magazine
Endometriosis
Is The Female
Word Most
Haven’t Heard Of
By Christina Chororos