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You’re Not Alone: 10 Stars Shining A Light On Endometriosis

You’ve probably seen the footage of Sophie Monk by now. The one of her lying on a hospital bed wearing an oxygen mask (and somehow still looking gorgeous btw) with a doctor by her side saying “we did find some endometriosis, but not a lot.” 

Soph is one of close to 200 million women worldwide affected by Endometriosis where tissue that’s similar to the lining of the uterus grows outside the uterus, causing a lot of problems. 1 in 10 women in Australia have it (though the figure could be higher) and until the last few years, it seems we didn’t really talk about it much, did we? Now, more and more celebrities are speaking openly about the condition putting endometriosis in the spotlight. And their message is pretty clear: guess what? you’re not alone!

Here are 10 celebrities using their star power to raise #endoawareness:

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1. Sophie Monk

Soph says she’s speaking up because so many women and girls put up with irregular cycles and extreme pain, not realising there may be more to it:

 

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2. Emma “Yellow Wiggle” Watkins

Earlier this year, Emma Watkins also had an operation to manage the pain. In a statement before the op, she said, “it is such a debilitating and painful disease and I urge anyone suffering with the symptoms of endometriosis to put your health first and get a diagnosis so that you are in the best position to manage this crippling disease.”

 

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Thank you for all the well wishes ? Operation went well and now in recovery ??????

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3. Julianne Hough

Dancer and actress Julianne Hough first experienced painful symptoms at age 15 but thought that was just normal period pain. It would be 10 years before a doctor would tell her she had endometriosis – shortly after being rushed off the set of Dancing With The Stars in 2008. She’s now involved in health campaigns to encourage more women to speak openly about their symptoms and help raise awareness for others who may not know they have it.

4. Halsey

The singer posted a message on Twitter earlier this year saying:

“Emo moment; but if any of you suffer from Endometriosis, please know you aren’t alone. I know how excruciatingly painful it can be and how discouraging the disease can be. To feel like it’s gonna limit you because of how debilitating it is. To miss school and work, or even worse to GO and suffer through it anyway feeling like a prisoner in your own body. To maybe be worried about ‘never having kids,’ or dealing with crazy treatment suggestions. I was recently diagnosed after years of suffering and finding myself doubled over backstage in the middle of my sets, or fighting back tears on an airplane, or even being in so much pain I would vomit or faint. With doctors essentially telling me I was being a big baby about my period, or misdiagnosing PCOS etc etc. Finding out that I had endo was the most bittersweet moment because it meant I wasn’t crazy!”

5. Padma Lakshmi

Interesting fact: TV host and model Padma Lakshmi is the co-founder of the Endometriosis Foundation of America. The other founder is her doctor, the one who diagnosed Padma with the condition (when no one else did for more than 20 years!). Padma often says how important it is to speak out about endo so the next generations of women don’t have to go through what she went through.

6. Mel Greig 

Aussie media personality Mel Greig who was diagnosed with endo at 17 is now an Ambassador for Endometriosis Australia helping to raise awareness about the disorder and funds for research. She writes “we can’t ever feel ashamed to say ‘I have Endometriosis’….we  just want a goddamn cure.”

 

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THE REALITY OF ENDOMETRIOSIS: One minute you can be getting ready to talk on a panel in Sydney for @redagencyau and @endometriosisaustralia and the next minute it feels like someone is stabbing you in the abdomen with a knife . . . A pain that I and many women know too well. Within 5mins my whole reproductive system was inflamed and I started to vomit. Nausea is a new symptom for me. I now can’t physically sit in a car for 2hrs because the pain is too unbearable and the pain medication that I once used has now been taken off pharmacy shelves, within a few hours I predict I’ll be in the emergency room begging for pain medication. This is the unpredictability of Endometriosis. It can literally come from nowhere without a trigger and render you helpless, I now can’t attend the event. This isn’t the first and it won’t be the last time this chronic illness has controlled my life. Ironically there are a few days left of Endo March the month of awareness. Luckily for me I was attending an Endometriosis event so my cancellation and flare up was instantly understood. For many women they feel embarrassed to call in sick or cancel with the truth of their condition, it’s much easier to say you have gastro. We need to end the silence and start the conversation. Endometriosis affects 1 in 10 women and it doesn’t discriminate, whether you are an Olympian like @emcbomb or a model like @tasha_rossxx or an everyday Mumma. We can’t ever feel ashamed to say ‘I have Endometriosis’ we don’t want a stigma we just want a god damn cure. #endometriosis #endosisters #7yrstodiagnose #nocure #chronicillness #endobelly #notashamed #thisisme #endthesilence #notpregnant

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7. Emily Jade O’Keeffe

The Aussie radio host often jokes she wishes she was an ambassador for the Chris Hemsworth Appreciation Society but instead she has endometriosis so she’s an ambassador for the Queensland Endometriosis Association! And it’s a great thing she is because Emily openly talks about her experiences with the disorder on air and on social media. In one blog post she writes, “This disease picked me and I’ll do my best to ensure one day it doesn’t pick my daughter and granddaughters, and one day we can all be endo free.”

8. Monica

R&B singer Monica was diagnosed with endo in 2017. She had an operation to remove a hernia as well as endo cysts and has spoken out about it on several occasions.“My reason for sharing is because we, as women, are built to be warriors and we will ignore something that seems so simple that can be so complex,” she says in an interview with PEOPLE magazine.

9. Tasha Ross

Model Tasha Ross is recognised as an “Endo Champion” by Endometriosis Australia for raising awareness about her own experience. In a post for the organisation, she says it took 7 years of going back and forth to various doctors before she was diagnosed: “The specialist used these exact words ‘it’s all in your head’. How could that be possible if I had been in so much pain for years?”

 

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10. Sabo Skirt Girls

The duo behind Aussie fashion label Sabo Skirt and sisters-in-law,  Thessy and Yiota Kouzoukas, have been openly sharing their endo experiences with their hundreds of thousands of social media followers. Thessy wrote a post to get young girls talking and make them aware about some of the signs of the disorder. She writes, “Why didn’t they tell us that debilitating pain isn’t normal? If I had known this 14 years ago when I started to get my period, I could be in a much better position in terms of controlling the disease, and its effects on my fertility.” 

 

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As you all know, I was scheduled to leave for Greece this Sunday. I owe it to you guys to let you know the drug “synarel” I was taking, although made me less symptomatic, did not have the desired or expected outcome for me personally. Prior to travelling I went for a check up of my cysts, just to make sure they were under control and it was safe for me to leave the country. Following scans of my abdomen I was quickly rushed back to my specialist where he told me I’m unable to travel, and need to remove this cyst immediately. The surgery that was scheduled for late August was pushed forward for today. At this stage I will keep the results of my surgery private though I can tell you things did go well and I am on the road to recovery. As I see it, there may be set backs and hurdles in this journey but I’ve just got to run faster and jump higher.

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