Bloggers Unite for EndoMarch: Week 3 - Letter to Representative

Dear Elected Representative,

I'm writing to tell you about a disease myself and 176 million other women worldwide are afflicted with.  It causes daily pain and can cause infertility, dashing the hopes of ever having children for so many women.  It can be debilitating and can greatly decrease the quality of life for those who have it.  It can take up to a decade for many to be properly diagnosed, which in 2014 is astonishing and unacceptable.  So many doctors are misinformed and are telling patients things that are just plain wrong.  

This disease is called endometriosis.  It occurs when tissue similar to the lining of the uterus is found in other places in the body.  It breaks down every month when a woman menstruates but has nowhere to go so it creates adhesions and scar tissue.  It can fuse organs together and and cause irreversible damage if not found in the early stages.  There is no cure, and the best treatment is currently excision surgery.  

On March 13, 2014 a wonderful event will be happening in Washington, DC and dozens of country capitals across the world.  It is called the Million Woman March for Endometriosis and will be a widespread effort to raise awareness for the largely unheard of disease.  The main goals of the march are to educate and also to bring about change.  Introducing early screening in schools and developing less invasive diagnostic testing are two of the hopes for the near future. 

I, myself, believe I've had endometriosis since I was around twelve or so.  I grew up thinking my pain was normal and never sought help until my mid-twenties.  Had I known that that type of pain was not just my lot in life as part of being a woman and that something was actually wrong, I could possibly have been spared over a decade of pain.

I urge you to get involved in any way you can whether it be attending the march or speaking with your fellow elected officials.  The women you represent deserve a cure, and I believe we can all work towards that together.  To learn more about the EndoMarch and how you can make a difference, please visit http://www.millionwomenmarch2014.org/.

Thank you for your time.