End Endo!

March is Endometriosis awareness month. To raise funds for Endometriosis Australia, a cause very dear to my heart, I am participating in a 21km walk, in the Gold Coast on the 20th of March.

Endometriosis is a chronic disease, affecting more than 830,000 Australian *women, where tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows in other parts of the body. Symptoms include pain, heavy bleeding, infertility, digestive upset, fatigue, depression, and then some. Endometriosis is more prevalent than diabetes, yet is it grossly underfunded and underrepresented.

Because the symptoms are so varied and official diagnosis requires a surgical procedure, many women are misdiagnosed with IBS, put on the birth control pill to manage their pain and bleeding or told that having a baby will "fix" the problem. Official data suggests that women are suffering as long as 10 years before receiving an accurate diagnosis which is unacceptable.

I am an endo warrior. I was diagnosed with Stage 3 Endometriosis in 2021, at the age of 36, after an almost 10 year battle with digestive issues and a 6 year battle with infertility. We have to do better so that future generations of women are not left to suffer.