National Action Plan for Endometriosis Officially Launched!

I’m holding Australia’s (maybe the world’s?) first ever National Action Plan for Endometriosis 😆😆 just launched by Greg Hunt MP .

A few months ago I was sitting at the Roundtable Meeting in Melbourne with 40 other experts in the field of endo, sharing all your stories, your wants, your needs, what WOMEN AND GIRLS WITH ENDO want and need, and all my ideas for solutions to the enormous public health issue that is #endometriosis.

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Fatigue and Endo is SO misunderstood! Finally – a published paper on this topic.

Finally – a paper on fatigue and endo! Even though I’m 99.99% pain-free these days, fatigue is a symptom (which I believe is endo-related) that still plagues me.

Yesterday I absolutely could not wake up.
I slept in til 1pm, then had a productive 4 hours of work.
By 6pm I could hardly keep my eyes open and no longer had the energy to communicate. Even eating dinner was a struggle because I just felt so drained.
8pm I was back in bed.

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#staff, biatch.

Well, shit. Who would’ve thought? 💅🏼This is one reason why I’ve been much less active on EndoActive. I’m now teaching a class on Endo for 3rd year Physiology & Med Science students at University of Sydney.

As of today, I have a sexy new office in the University of Sydney Law School, Centre for Health Governance Law and Ethics where I’ll be working alone.. late into the night, sippin’ scotch 🥃 (hate scotch) and sitting in one of those chesterfield armchairs beside a green lamp, writing my thesis (on Endo obvs) while listening to Vivaldi 🎧.

BLOWIN’ UP BLOWIN’ UP! 💥 #staff

Endo promised MILLIONS by the Australian Federal Government!

HOLY GUACAMOLE 🥑 !!! What an INCREDIBLE day!!!!. For 8 hours we (EndoActive and our newly formed peak body, the Australian Coalition for Endometriosis (ACE) ) have worked with 30 of Australia’s best experts in Endometriosis to craft the National Action Plan for Endo.

Minister Greg Hunt was there and gave another brilliant speech. He asked me not to repeat this bit but when he spoke to his wife about bringing attention to endo, she said, “ABOUT BLOODY TIME!” 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

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EndoActive & endo groups form the Australian Coalition for Endometriosis (ACE) to inform the federal government on policy change for Endometriosis

Did my first live interview with ABC News last night on endometriosis. Didn’t plan on wearing my hi-vis jacket but they said my top was see-through so… Here’s my interview moments before lobbying the government and giving my speech to Minister for Health, Greg Hunt MP

I nearly missed my graduation ceremony because I found a lump in my breast.

From hospital gown to graduation gown – I didn’t expect to find myself at the Breast Oncology clinic an hour before my ceremony.
Last Thursday night I was standing in the shower thinking about breast cancer – as you do. It occurred to me that breast cancer runs in both sides of my family and yet I’ve never had a mammogram and have no idea how to check my breasts. So, while the hot water ran over my body I decided to give it a go. Of course I didn’t what I was doing or what to look for but when I inched my fingertips over to the edge of my breast – close to my rib cage – I yelped. OW!! That really hurt. I checked the other side. YOWZER! Same thing. That’s weird.. I thought.
The next day I went to my GP who ordered me to have blood tests in case I had glandular fever. I had the tests the following morning and was told to wait a few days for the results. In the mean time, my upper side boobs were still really sore and I could feel the pain increasing by the day.

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