Many women suffer from endometriosis. For a long time, this disease was minimized by health professionals. The testimonials, their media coverage and the action of the public authorities are changing care.
- Endometriosis is a chronic inflammatory disease, which is characterized by the presence of endometrial-like uterine tissue outside the uterine cavity.
- Affected women take an average of 7 years to obtain a diagnosis.
One in ten women has endometriosis, according to I’National Institute of Health and Medical Research (Inserm). It is an increasingly common gynecological disease but still poorly understood by the general public. Little by little, however, the freedom of speech, media coverage and the action of the public authorities are helping to improve its management.
Severe pain during menstruation
Endometriosis can occur at any age when endometrial cells leave the uterus and lodge in the ovaries, peritoneum or other organs. They undergo the action of the hormonal cycle and in particular bleeding within them during menstruation, forming pockets filled with blood. When it is not asymptomatic, this pathology is manifested by severe pain, more particularly at the time of menstruation, and, sometimes, infertility. “The pain is excruciating, labor contractions are nothing compared to, explains Fabienne, whose first symptoms appeared at the age of 33. The suffering increases every day, the more blood we lose the more we suffer. Once, I thought I was fainting.
Currently, there is no preventive screening for the disease. It is only if the patients suffer abnormally during their periods that clinical examinations and medical imaging will be carried out to establish the diagnosis. In first intention, the doctors prescribe a hormonal treatment to suppress the periods, which makes it possible to reduce the pains and, in the best of the cases, to decrease the lesions. However, the only solution to completely eliminate them is surgery.
“Mademoiselle, it’s normal to have a stomach ache during your period”
Many testimonials from patients recount a long medical wandering before establishing the diagnosis. Last March, during the week European prevention and information on endometriosis, I’Info-Endometriosis association published six videos on this theme. In one of them actress and president of the association Julie Gayet told Sacha’s medical journey in the first person: “I got my period at 11, with terrible stomach pains, I couldn’t get up anymore. When I was 16, my mother took me to see a gynecologist, and there he explained to me, “Mademoiselle, it’s normal to have a stomach ache during your period. We will give you painkillers”. Nothing calms down, I have very strong fits, I can’t get up, I roll on the ground, I have to be operated on urgently. The surgeon explains to me: “You have endometriosis”. For a long time, this journey was unfortunately common to many women with this disease. In recent years, other celebrities have helped to make it known, such as actress Lena Dunham, who in 2018 made public her removal of the uterus, in connection with endometriosis.
France implements a national strategy against endometriosis
Several countries have also adopted measures to fight against endometriosis, better prevent it and take care of it. This is the case of Denmark, Australia but also of France. In 2016, a first awareness campaign was carried out. Last March, the Minister of Health, Olivier Véran, also launched work to develop the national strategy against endometriosis. This work was entrusted to gynecologist and MEP Chrysoula Zacharopoulou, who has been campaigning for years for better management of this pathology. The goal is to improve the detection of endometriosis, the care pathway for patients and their management, by strengthening medical research and communication.
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