From the State Association of People Affected by Chronic Endometriosis-Adaec we request that on March 14, on the occasion of International Endometriosis Day, the front of the Granada City Council be illuminated yellow.
Endometriosis is a disease that affects ten percent of women of menstrual age, about two million Spanish women. It is a disease of very high prevalence, being one of the most frequent chronic ailments. More women suffer from it than AIDS, diabetes, asthma and epilepsy combined. It consists of the growth of endometrial tissue outside the uterus, normally within the pelvic cavity (intestines, rectum, bladder, etc.), but it can invade any organ in the body through the lymphatic route.
The first symptom of endometriosis is severe pain during menstruation. The diagnosis is delayed because of the cliché that it is normal for menstruation to hurt. When women complain of extreme menstrual pain, they are labeled as lazy people who want to take time off work or as hypochondriacs, and often end up in mental health problems. Diagnosis takes about eight years and they have to consult four or five different specialists before anyone takes them seriously. The disease spreads during this time, and can cause dangerous complications such as a perforation of the appendix or intestine.
The disease progresses, generating disability in daily life: permanent pelvic pain that does not respond to analgesia, diarrhea or constipation, migraines, pain during sexual relations, pain when sitting, pain when standing, pain when carrying loads, limitations to mobility, among other symptoms. Furthermore, this disease is the cause of 40% female infertility, so it constitutes a real public health problem.
Despite its great impact on the lives of so many women, the disease receives almost no scientific or social attention. There is no scientific consensus on its causes, there is no definitive cure and diagnostic techniques are poor, since the disease is usually invisible on ultrasounds and the final diagnosis requires surgery.
We ask that the front of the Granada City Council be illuminated, in solidarity with all the women who suffer from this disease and to make these three objectives visible:
- End the normalization of menstrual pain. Women need to know that they do not have to endure pain stoically. Healthy menstruation is not disabling.
- Know the existence of this disease. Talking about limitations improves the social and work insertion of patients. Knowing the disease will allow suspicion of its existence to arise, and this is essential for an early diagnosis that improves the prognosis of endometriosis.
- Promote the improvement of health care and research. We want resources to be allocated to this disease, for our city to have a multidisciplinary Unit capable of operating on complex cases and for the University of Granada to promote research into diagnostic techniques, causes of endometriosis and treatments.
