Endometriosis: A Chronic Disease

May 28 marks the International Day of Action for Women's Health, and to mark the occasion, we are taking a closer look at a women's disease that is still poorly understood: endometriosis.

Endometriosis is a chronic and often painful disease in which tissue that is similar to the inner lining of the uterus grows outside the uterus. It often affects the ovaries, fallopian tubes and the tissue lining the pelvis. According to data from the World Health Organization as well as the French association fighting endometriosis EndoFrance, women living with the disease can currently expect to wait seven years on average before receiving a diagnosis. Endometriosis can present itself in a range of ways, with symptoms often akin to those of other conditions. This contributes to delays in diagnosis. Endometriosis in itself is difficult to diagnose: while a pelvic ultrasound, an MRI or an x-ray examination of the uterus and tubes can help identify endometriosis, only surgical visualization by laparoscopy is so far able to confirm it.

The disease can heavily impact a patient’s quality of life. Symptoms include, but are not limited to: painful periods, chronic fatigue, infertility, digestive and urinary disorders, pelvic and lumbar pain or even dyspareunia (pain during sexual intercourse). An estimated 30-40 percent of women with endometriosis also experience fertility problems and 70 percent suffer from debilitating chronic pain.

There is currently no definitive treatment for endometriosis.