Today's Article

"1Endometriosis does 2impact 1 in 10 women. We do think that it probably impacts more women than that." 

Dr. Megan Billow with Cleveland Clinic says endometriosis is a condition where 3tissue, similar to the lining of the 4uterus, grows where it shouldn't like the 5abdomen and 6pelvic area. Symptoms include painful periods, abdominal or back pain during your period, pain during sex, heavy periods, 7spotting between periods, 8infertility and painful 9bowel movements. 

"The reason it's 10underdiagnosed and can take up to 7 to 10 years from the initial 11onset of symptoms to diagnosis is because the 12clinicalsymptoms do 13overlap with many other types of conditions."

Billow says the other problem is there's no blood test or bio-marker that can 14detect the condition. 

"Endometriosis does require 15laparoscopy or an 16invasive procedure to truly diagnose the disease. However, we are really working on non-invasive options to diagnose endometriosis, including ultrasound and MRI."

There's no known cause for endometriosis and no cure, but Billow says a diagnosis allows doctors to treat symptoms. 

"The best type of management is typically using a combination of medications and surgery to not only diagnose 17optimize treatment and control symptoms."