William Croyle is a former writer with the Cincinnati Enquirer. He is the author of 11 books, including co-author with Tamer Seckin, MD, of The Doctor Will See You Now: Recognizing and Treating Endometriosis and EndoMEtriosis: A Guide for Girls.
I had textbook endometriosis symptoms beginning with my first menstrual period in sixth grade. The pain was unbearable, and the bleeding was heavy and frequent. To make matters worse, we lived in China at the time, a conservative country where…
When we wake up in the morning to the light of the sunYou know our days won’t last foreverWe could try one by one. Those are lyrics to “Time and Space” by The Hip Abduction. When Kara Tersigni was in pre-op this past December,…
My endometriosis journey began years before I ever received a diagnosis. I first experienced severe pelvic pain, painful periods, fatigue, bloating, and other symptoms that increasingly interfered with my daily life when I was 16. I missed…
I’m sharing my endometriosis story not because it’s different from other stories you’ve read or heard about the disease, but because it’s not. Many patients face long diagnostic delays, being dismissed, and barriers…
I got my first period when I was 12 and suffered at the outset from severe, debilitating menstrual pain. I missed a lot of school each month. I struggled to study and do homework. I was too sick to hang out with friends. I played field hockey…
Melissa Boudreau had gone into a CVS to grab some snacks. Instead, she ended up in the store’s restroom where she collapsed, her skin clammy and pulse beating in her ears as she tried to stay conscious. I crawled to my car, curled up…
After 31 years of unbearable pain, I was diagnosed less than two months ago at age 43 with stage IV endometriosis. Though the surgeon excised a huge amount of the disease from my pelvic region and believes he got it all, I’m still in…
Before I was diagnosed with endometriosis, I was constantly crying on the bathroom floor during my periods, confused as to why my chronic pains were being written off without answers. I felt lonely, lost, helpless, and depressed. Now, with…
I cannot remember a time when my period wasn’t debilitating. When I was 13 and my mom would drive me to school, she’d have to pull over because I was doubled over in pain, screaming and gripping the car door to the point that I…
I got my first period when I was 13 and immediately knew something was horribly wrong. I spent the first two days of that cycle and nearly every one after it curled up in a ball, barely able to move, and nearly fainting. I passed blood clots…
In 2024, Taylor Johnson’s screenplay, Between These Walls, was one of just a handful selected for the second round of competition in the Sundance Institute’s Development Track Program. Though her script did not advance to the renowned…
In the late 2010s, Krissy O’Malley led her high school volleyball team to three Division I state titles. She was a four-year All-State selection, Virginia’s 2018-19 Gatorade Player of the Year, and attended Division I Liberty University…
For six years, I knew something was wrong in my body. I suspected it was endometriosis, but I live on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, where access to specialized care for the disease is severely limited. My symptoms were not just occasional…
For more than three years, while my partner and I tried to get pregnant, doctors repeatedly told me, “Nothing is wrong—just keep trying.” During that time, I endured five heartbreaking miscarriages, multiple surgeries and…
I was diagnosed with endometriosis when I was 14 years old. At an age when most kids are immersed in friendships, school dances, and athletics, I was learning how to live inside a body that was turning against me. Fourteen years ago, there…
Karen Doniger learned after her hysterectomy two years ago that she had adenomyosis. Today, her two oldest daughters experience a degree of period pain that is greater than normal. And her youngest daughter, 19-year-old Katherine,…
Unbeknownst to the live studio audience and to more than 10 million viewers tuning in at home, Meghan Linsey sang on a 2015 episode of The Voice with the flu and a fever of 103 degrees. “I had to perform. There was no changing the schedule.…
Most stories women share with EndoFound about their endometriosis journey include surgery to remove the disease or their continued quest to find the surgery they need. Auri Sayeh has chosen a non-surgical, holistic path—and it’s…
The 50th edition of the New York City Marathon is more than eight months away, but its popularity has never been higher. A record 240,000 runners worldwide entered last week’s annual lottery for a slot in the race, but just 1 percent…
In only her second visit to a gynecologist, just a few months after getting her first period, Bianca Cipolla was told that she may have endometriosis. However, it wasn’t until last year—after 12 years of pain and suffering—that…
Jenn Morel’s joy during a phone conversation last month was infectious. Her positive energy palpable. Her humor sparkling. These attributes were somewhat astonishing considering the pain she was in just seven months ago that halted her…
Chloe Scharffenberg has had three endometriosis surgeries in the last five years. She will have a colonoscopy and endoscopy next month to determine if the disease is affecting other areas of her body. The last two surgeries were excision, considered…
Mabila Kalala Ghislaine’s health situation is simple to explain. The solution, however, is complex. “There is a name for my pain, but there is so much ignorance about it here,” she said. “I’m struggling. My life…
In January 1988, a group of faculty and students from Tufts Bay State Medical Center in Springfield, Massachusetts, drove four hours southwest one day to observe Dr. Harry Reich in action. Dr. Reich was a gynecologist with a practice in Kingston,…
Tickets for EndoFound’s annual Medical Conference and Patient Day are selling quickly, though registrations are still open for both. The organization’s signature Medical Conference and Patient Day will each be two-day events with…
“Twenty-four years.” Callie Greenberg repeated that phrase during an interview last month about her endometriosis journey. She was referring to the 24 years it took before, one day, she finally found a doctor who showed her compassion,…
Brionna Kirkendoll felt severe pelvic pain when she had her first period at 14. Doctors initially told her it was gas. When the pain didn’t subside, they wasted no time putting her on birth control—and kept her on it for nearly…
The first six lines of Ayten Soylu’s somber ballad “Breathe” directly and poignantly express what women worldwide with endometriosis are crying out from the depths of their souls: I want to breathe Not just survive Do you…
For roughly the first six years that Ren Schulz experienced debilitating pelvic pain and other symptoms, she saw the same gynecologist, hoping with each visit that she’d finally find relief. “I started seeing her when I was a teenager,…
Maddison Stanley has been down a vicious health road that few women her age can imagine. “It’s been difficult and emotional,” Stanley said. “I wouldn’t wish it on anyone. I hope things change with this disease…
Jamie Kronstadt, 35, suffered from severe endometriosis symptoms for 20 years before having excision surgery in September near her Massachusetts home. But six hours after the hospital discharged her, she was vomiting and in agonizing pain.…
Emorie Harty fought through tears as she told her gut-wrenching story of having a hysterectomy five years ago at the age of 25. Before her surgery, she’d suffered from endometriosis for nearly 13 years without a diagnosis. But she’s…
As Gianna Peko pushed her weary body through Central Park toward the New York City Marathon finish line, nearly five hours after she began the race on Staten Island, the magnitude of her accomplishment hit her. “It’s hard to explain…
On May 8, Mara Wilson returned to the auditorium at Dolores Huerta Middle School in Burbank, California, where she had been a student 25 years prior. The actress and writer was there with three other ENPOWR educators to teach approximately…
Robert McNally has known his sister-in-law, Jenna Knoblauch, since she was a teenager, when her endometriosis symptoms started. Aware of the pain and grief the disease has caused her, McNally applied this past spring to run the New York City…
Gianna Peko had a blood transfusion when she was 13 after losing a significant amount of blood during her menstrual period. It was a sign of what her life would be like for the next decade. “When I would get my period, it was horrible—middle…
Nearly all stories from endometriosis patients about their journeys with the disease have a level of incredulity. It could be the time it took for them to get diagnosed, the imprudent comments made by their healthcare providers, or the ineffective…
Patrick McCoy and Caileigh Cashman have been together for a little more than three years. Caileigh had been dealing with endometriosis symptoms well before they met, and Patrick knew something was wrong pretty quickly in their relationship.…
On November 2, Elsa Smith will run for EndoFound’s Team EndoStrong in the New York City Marathon. On November 6, she will have her second endometriosis excision surgery, hoping it will end the pain that’s gripped her for most of…
When Starlynn Dris’ doctor told her a few years ago that she had endometriosis, Dris held the news close to heart, not even revealing it to family and friends. “I just felt it was very personal,” she said. Now that EndoFound’s…
Jillian Lye had endometriosis symptoms when she was a teenager, but she wasn’t concerned. She had friends whose periods seemed to be much worse. “I was on a junior national squash team in Singapore from ages 11 to 19. I was training…
Rachel Bae’s menstrual cycle didn’t start until she was almost 17. Some of her periods in high school were heavy and painful, while others didn’t bother her. When they did hurt, she couldn’t do much about it.…
Kasey Malanga ran her first-ever marathon on April 6 at the Delaware Running Festival. Eleven days later, she had her first (and, hopefully, last) endometriosis surgery. Today, she’s gearing up for the New York City Marathon on November…
When Raya Pezzillo was in college and told by a doctor that she likely had endometriosis, she put off surgery, hoping she could graduate first. But she also had another reason for delaying it. “I was trying to convince myself that there…
EndoFound’s Team EndoStrong has become a fixture at the New York City Marathon. The race on November 2 will be the team’s eleventh consecutive year as a charity partner with the marathon, and Clare Murphy expects it will be one…
Gabrielle Morgan Rodman has been battling horrific endometriosis symptoms every month for 23 years. Her stories are heartbreaking and, in some cases, mind-blowing. One, in particular, occurred a decade ago, when she told a gynecologist that…
Elsie Hewitt said she always had bad periods growing up, but she thought they were normal and was “taught to power through them.” “I think that there were a handful of times throughout my teenage years and my early twenties…
Pamela Bove suffered from severe endometriosis symptoms for 16 years before finding out in 2022 that she had the disease. She stumbled upon the eventual diagnosis as an administrative assistant in a minimally invasive gynecological surgery…
In the fall of 2022, Taylor Burchard moved from her Washington State home to Palo Alto, California, for an internship at a science research center. She loved the work, but after just three months, she reluctantly had to give it up and return…
Rachel Seifried’s endometriosis story is most unusual. The disease grew silently until she was in her mid-30s, wreaked havoc on her body for two years, and has not been a problem since a hysterectomy 10 years ago. Today, having told few…