Ms B?bhinn Nic Liam:

We need an end to the hit-and-miss treatments we have at the moment. There is a need for people who have pain to realise that it is not normal. We need public awareness so that when the patient presents to the GP, the GP would have endometriosis on his or her radar and could do a swift referral to a gynaecological specialist. At the moment, everything is dragged out and one could be 11 years in pain, on average, before actually seeing a gynaecologist. Even when the patient gets to that point there is no guarantee that this gynaecologist would be able to identify the different ways that endometriosis manifests, or even be able to treat it effectively. Basically, we need awareness, training, and a smoother pathway. Patients need to be believed when they present with pain. One of the reasons I got involved with the Endometriosis Association of Ireland is because I could not believe that I was hearing stories from younger women who were going through the exact same thing I had been through ten years previously, and were being told the same incorrect stuff from healthcare professionals that they had trusted. It is really important that the medical profession and the public, and society in general, are aware of it.