Why Should We Take Endometriosis (Chocolate Cyst Disease) Seriously?
MARCH is the "ENDOMETRIOSIS AWARENESS MONTH" all over the world as well!
Endometriosis (or endometriosis, also known as Chocolate Cyst Disease) is a very important disease in terms of women’s health. Of course, when it comes to human health, every disease is important. In other words, there is no unimportant disease. So why should we care about "endometriosis"?
In this article, I will try to explain to you why we should care about "endometriosis" with reasons listed in items. I believe I can convince you how important "endometriosis" really is.
1. It is very common... It is seen in 1 out of every 10 women. In fact, it has been shown to be present in 6 out of 10 young girls who experience menstrual pain every month.
2. It can occur at any age... Medical documents have proven that endometriosis can be seen in all stages of a woman’s life: childhood, infancy, adolescence, reproductive age, and postmenopausal period.
3. It is one of the most important causes of pelvic pain in women... Pelvic pain is a very common and important complaint in women’s health. The most frequent cause of chronic pelvic pain is also endometriosis.
4. It is one of the causes of abnormal bleeding in women... Especially brown-colored spotting at the beginning or end of menstruation is an important sign of the presence of endometriosis.
5. It is one of the most important causes of pain during sexual intercourse in women... When endometriosis lesions are located around the uterus or between the vagina and the last part of the intestine, severe pain during intercourse occurs.
6. Infertility (difficulty achieving pregnancy)... Women with endometriosis may experience difficulties in becoming pregnant. Endometriosis can make pregnancy harder by reducing ovarian reserve (egg count), causing blockage of the tubes, negatively affecting egg quality through certain substances it secretes, damaging both reproductive cells and the embryo, and disrupting embryo implantation.
7. In recent years, warning scientific publications have emerged regarding its association with cancer... It is thought that endometriosis may pose a risk, especially for certain types of ovarian cancer.
8. It may lead to psychological problems caused by chronic pain... Complaints that negatively affect quality of life—especially pain—in endometriosis cases often have a negative psychological impact on these individuals.
9. Physical fatigue, gas pain... Endometriosis, can cause such vague but quality-of-life-reducing problems... Although these complaints may be due to many different reasons, endometriosis is also one of them.
10. Delays in diagnosis—and this is very common all over the world—mean that the correct diagnosis often cannot be made for many years... Studies show that there is an average delay of 6–7 years in diagnosing endometriosis. One of the main reasons is being told that pain can be normal, in other words being told to “ignore it.”
For these 10 reasons, we should take endometriosis seriously in terms of women’s health. Instead of telling girls with menstrual pain “get married or have a child and the pain will pass,” we should try to investigate the cause of this pain. We must fight endometriosis by sharing information, drawing attention to the issue, following new knowledge, and producing new knowledge. Let me emphasize once again; March is Endometriosis Awareness Month. Let us all increase our awareness about endometriosis together...
Stay healthy and full of love.
Prof. Dr. Ümit İnceboz
Recommended sources
1. https://www.endometriosisdernegi.org
2. Zondervan KT et al. Endometriosis. N Engl J Med 2020; 382:1244-1256.
3. Taylor HS et al. Endometriosis is a chronic systemic disease: clinical challenges and innovations. Lancet 2021;397:839-852
4. Giudice LC. Clinical practice. Endometriosis. N Engl J Med. 2010; 362: 2389-2398