Many women with endometriosis make a superhuman effort to get up every morning, go to work or study, even when the pain forces them to double over in silence, without anyone noticing. You have the right to a timely diagnosis and respectful care. During this Endometriosis Awareness Month, we recognize that your pain is real and deserves to be treated. If your period prevents you from studying, working, or living normally, something is wrong. In severe cases, it can invade other organs around it. Endometriosis can cause severe pain during menstruation, pain in the lower abdomen, discomfort during sexual intercourse, bloating during menstruation, and, in some cases, difficulty getting pregnant. Endometriosis not only hurts physically, but it also wears down emotionally and socially those who suffer from it. The system and society have failed women with endometriosis, and one of the signs of this is the late diagnosis of this disease. It often takes up to ten years to diagnose endometriosis. Gaps in medical education and awareness have negatively impacted the timely diagnosis of endometriosis. Listening to women should not be revolutionary; it should be elementary. Women's health has traditionally lagged behind, without adequate clinical studies. Menstruation is normal; debilitating suffering is not. For decades, severe menstrual pain has been normalized, minimized, or attributed to psychological causes. Believing women is also good medicine. Pain is not normal when it robs you of your life. The author is a medical student. What is a normal day for others can be a daily physical and mental battle for them. Debilitating pain is not 'part of being a woman.' Endometriosis is a chronic gynecological disease in which tissue similar to the endometrium, the inner lining of the uterus, grows outside the uterus. What has been normalized for years must now be questioned. Seek medical attention, request appropriate tests, and do not accept being told that you are exaggerating. No woman should have to wait a decade to be heard.
