Why is this important?
As women, we have been forced to see our health as a burden to society. As testament to this, ABC news reported a segment in which they interviewed women in the workforce regarding how an endometriosis diagnosis can affect their work.
“I had been so used to dealing with chronic pain around my periods my whole life, so I didn’t talk about it ”
From this we can see that in many cases, women feel like their health is a burden not only to them but to others as well (Wright, 2021). And based on what has been stated by McCarthy, women’s health and struggle often goes without validation (Wright, 2021).
Endo Matters aims to create a safe virtual space for women clinically diagnosed with endometriosis to find useful academic research, tips and communities that support each other and validate the very real pain of living with endometriosis. Additionally, It aims to promote early screening and diagnosis, prompting women between the ages of 20-25 years to not wait if something feels ‘off’. Many women with endometriosis often suffer with infertility, and this is something that would be preferred to be detected sooner rather than later in life.
Understandably, not all women can afford to have the diagnostic surgery (Rowlands et al., 2020). And so, Endo Matters works with sponsors and the larger community to raise funds for women who need a laparoscopy. We also have funding programs that go towards funding research on alternative methods of diagnosing and treating endometriosis.