Endometriosis Awareness Always
Endometriosis awareness is growing much more rapidly today than even a few years ago. More research is being done and published and many associations and groups have increased educations and awareness efforts internationally. But there is much more to be done because even one person walking around wondering about their undiagnosed pelvic pain and related symptoms is too many.
Endometriosis is quite common, yet sometimes treated as if it were rare. It’s estimated that one out of ten women have it. That means millions of women in need.
Endo is usually located on or near the gynecologic organs (uterus, ovaries and Fallopian tubes), but is also often spreads to the surrounding pelvic area and nearby organs, like the rectum and bladder. It can spread far beyond that however and can literally be found almost anywhere in the body, which is very strange for a non-cancer condition…until you realize that some of the molecular signal disorders found in endometriosis are also shared by some cancers. This does NOT mean endo is cancer, but partly explains this far-reaching spread and the increased risk of ovarian cancer and degeneration of endo itself as you get older. Only about 1% or less of endo patients experience cancer degeneration. That is tiny, but given that millions of women have endometriosis, you can do the math. This means many thousands of women are still at risk of this happening to them, more often in later reproductive or menopausal years (assuming no inherited genetic mutations).
The following is a shortlist and examples of medical literature reports of endo appearing in unusual areas of the body. To discover more, check this out.
Just like breast cancer, endo can occur in men as well. This is extremely rare. But as long as we are talking awareness, this is something to be aware of. Troublesome prostate symptoms may be related to an endometriosis-like condition in men.
Endometriosis requires a very special surgical and medical skill set that goes beyond the average general gynecologist’s level. This is not to disparage anyone but also to make you aware that you might need an uber expert surgeon and a medical team that will help you discover and beat this disease. Dr. Steve Vasilev MD is a go-to minimally invasive robotic surgeon for advanced cases of endo excision in Southern California. His team can help you with robotic surgery and integrative healing so that you can get your life back.
