Publisher’s newsrooms unite to launch endometriosis campaign

Local newsrooms across the UK have joined forces to demand better support for women suffering from endometriosis.

The Endo The Battle campaign is being supported by titles in the National World stable, and spearheaded by health writer Sarah McCann, who has shared her own experience in fighting for help with endometriosis, including crowdfunding to pay for treatment and travelling to Romania for support.

An estimated 1.5 million women in the UK are affected by endometriosis, a systemic inflammatory condition where cells similar to the lining of the uterus are found elsewhere in the body.

This can cause painful symptoms such as chronic pelvic pain, painful periods, painful bowel movements, painful urination and painful sex, it can lead to chronic pain, poor quality of life, infertility and other complications when left untreated.

Support is so hard to get that someone experiencing the first endometriosis today would be unlikely to get a diagnosis until 2034.

Over the next month, National World titles will tell the stories of patients with the condition right across the UK.

Those stories will then be collated and shared in an open letter to health ministers in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland to call on those in power to make help more readily available.

Readers are being asked to share their experiences in a survey here.

Writing about her own experiences, Sarah said: “It took me 20 years to get a diagnosis of endometriosis, and I had to travel from Northern Ireland to England to get it.

“Four years later, I found myself on a plane again travelling over 2,000 miles for my second surgery in Bucharest.

“My story, sadly, isn’t unique. Too many people are facing a tough choice of long waiting lists, paying privately or travelling for care.

“Endometriosis has had a huge impact on me. Firstly on my education, I found myself having to leave university on two occasions due to the pain. It also had an impact on my career, as I was unable to keep up with the fast-paced internships.”

Other stories told so far include a family who spent £400,000 on treatment and a woman who made a documentary about her experiences after she feared she would die.