Endometriosis Walk for Awareness
Saturday, March 25, 2000
10:00 a.m.
Washington, D.C.
The Endometriosis Walk for Awareness is an event designed to raise
awareness about endometriosis, an incurable hormonal and immunological disease.
Today there are 5 million girls and women in the United States who have this disease,
along with another half million in Canada and millions more worldwide. With
endometriosis, tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows in the abdomen and on
organs such as the ovaries, intestines, bowel, and bladder. Such growth of tissue is
abnormal and results in internal bleeding, formation of scar tissue, inflammation and
numerous other medical problems.
Typical symptoms include chronic pain (particularly pelvic pain),
disabling menstrual periods, painful intercourse, chronic fatigue,
chemical sensitivities, allergies and infertility. For those who
have the disease, life is a nightmare of misinformation, myths, taboos, improper
diagnoses, and problematic treatments. Although numerous theories exist, the exact
mechanisms causing endometriosis have yet to be determined. Recent research
findings, however, point to dioxin (a group of toxic chemicals containing known cancer
causing agents) as a primary trigger for the onset of the disease.
There are three primary goals for this walk. The first goal is to give a
"face" to this elusive disease. Because endometriosis knows no
boundaries, it affects girls and women of all ages (from girls of
eleven or twelve years of age to women in their sixties). Likewise, it is a disease
that afflicts a diverse group of people - far more than
just Caucasian career women in the United States (as some have believed in the past).
Endometriosis transcends all racial, socioeconomic and geographic barriers.
The second goal of the Endometriosis Walk for Awareness is to call
attention to the need for government and private funds to be directed
towards endometriosis research. Only through key projects and
scientific collaborations will the cause of endometriosis be isolated and the mechanisms
for a cure be determined. Research holds the key to minimizing any further suffering
of those who already have
endometriosis and to giving hope to those who one day will be diagnosed with the disease.
The final goal of this event is to honor the millions of girls and
women who are battling endometriosis worldwide, to salute those who have suffered (many
times in silence) before us, and to give hope to all the daughters, mothers, friends
and loved ones who will come after us.
The Endometriosis Walk for Awareness is hosted by the Metropolitan
Washington D.C. Support Group of the Endometriosis Association.
The support group has offered guidance, counseling and crisis support to thousands of
women in the metropolitan Washington D.C. area.
For more information please direct all
inquiries to: www.endowalk.org.
