Endometriosis Awareness Week 2018

Aims of Endometriosis Awareness Week include:

• Promoting – a greater awareness & understanding of endometriosis as a real, debilitating and disabling disease
• Highlighting – the consequences of living with endometriosis
• To help people overcome the impact endometriosis can have on individual lives
• For everyone to have the right to fast, appropriate care, support and treatment
• For all of society to fully understand endometriosis and its impact and to be aware of the work of Endometriosis UK

Endometriosis devastates the lives of women and their families. Endometriosis UK helps them take back control by providing vital support services, reliable information and a community for those affected by endometriosis.

One in ten women endure unrelenting pain that affects every aspect of their lives each day. That’s over 1.5 million women who desperately need support and information to help them understand this chronic condition.

With diagnosis taking an average of 7.5 years in the UK, the main focus for Awareness Week is to raise awareness with women who may not yet have a diagnosis, with the aim of bringing down the unacceptably long diagnosis time.

What is Endometriosis?

Endometriosis is a long-term condition that can have a significant impact on quality of life. It can affect women of all ages, although it is most common in those of childbearing age.

Endometriosis occurs when tissue that behaves like the lining of the womb (endometrium) is found in other parts of the body, including the ovaries, fallopian tubes, inside the stomach, and in or around the bladder or bowel.

Endometriosis can be a difficult condition to deal with, both physically and emotionally. One of the main complications of endometriosis is difficulty getting pregnant or not being able to get pregnant at all (infertility).