Why
research endometriosis?
When
you are healthy you have many dreams
- when you are ill you have just one...
This is reality for tens
of millions of women around the world as they struggle
daily with the symptoms associated with endometriosis:
pain and infertility.
These symptoms can leave a woman unable
to finish an education or maintain a career and have significant
effect on her quality of life, her relationships and ability
to have children, which also has a substantial socio-economic
impact.
Yet, the origin of endometriosis is poorly
understood, most treatments have side effects, and there
is no cure.
Research to solve these puzzles is what
the World Endometriosis Research Foundation is addressing!
What
is endometriosis?
Endometriosis is a disease where tissue, similar to the
lining of the uterus, is found in other areas of the body
– mainly in the abdominal cavity, but it can also
be found in the lung, and (rarely) in other areas of the
body.
This tissue responds to a woman’s
hormonal cycle. However, unlike blood in connection with
the period, it remains within the body, where it bleeds
and forms lesions, blood-filled cysts, and adhesions.
The symptoms of endometriosis include:
• Pain at menstruation, ovulation,
intercourse, bowel movements, urination
• Sub-fertility
• Fatigue, bloating, nausea, heavy bleeding
• Possibly a susceptibility to develop other diseases,
including certain cancers
Treatments include:
• Painkillers
• Birth control pills
• Hormonal suppression
• Surgical removal and, for some, hysterectomy.
For most women, side effects are associated
with all of these treatments, and none of them cure the
disease.
Why
do we never hear of endometriosis?
Even in the most “liberal”
of countries, female health issues, in particular those
associated with menstruation, painful intercourse and
infertility, are topics that are not readily discussed
in society. They are still taboo in the 21st century.
Yet, all of these are associated with
endometriosis, and women who are affected have to deal
with these challenges on a daily basis. Unfortunately
many mistakenly believe that “pain is part of being
a woman” – even though pain is the body’s
way of saying: something is not right.
This lack of awareness leads to an average
diagnostic delay of up to eleven years in some health
care settings.
Endometriosis may be progressive, and
recent research has indicated that a delayed diagnosis
can be associated with more severe disease.
This is why it
is so important that we invest in research to find the
cause and prevention
With sufficient funding the work of the
Foundation will result in a major and beneficial influence
on the diagnosis and management of endometriosis.
SUCCESS
in these areas may herald a new era in meaning medical
research for endometriosis.
SUCCESS
in these areas may mean that women with endometriosis
will be able to entertain more than one dream...
Be
part of the global movement to solve endometriosis!
|
.gif)
.gif)