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UPDATED POST (at 9:19 am on Friday, October 31, 2008)
I have started a petition called:
Create Endometriosis Awareness & Understanding.
If you click the previous link, you will be routed directly to the online petition. I urge you to sign it!
The goal is to get a show like Oprah or The View to feature a story on endometriosis that explains ACCURATELY how endo is diagnosed, what amount of recovery time is needed, etc.
Please see my post about the petition I created last night:
Friday, October 31, 2008 Endometriosis Blog: Please Sign Petition To "Create Endometriosis Awareness & Understanding"!!!
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Editor's Note/Update (11:43 EST on October 28, 2008):
I found another link that provides a bit more insight into Julianne Hough's situation: E! Online
Julianne Hough of Dancing With the Stars reported on last night's show that she has endometriosis and will be having an appendectomy today:
USA Today: 'Dancing' star Julianne Hough to have surgery
The announcement on her website follows:
Julianne Hough's website
Her site has comments from well-wishers, including a message from the Endometriosis Research Center.
Having had 7 abdominal surgeries myself, including an appendectomy, my best wishes are with Julianne for a speedy recovery. Hopefully she has a skilled surgeon who will be able to remove the endometrial implants and the appendix that is apparently affected.
One thing that puzzled me is that she said on the show last night that she "had been diagnosed with endometriosis" and that she would be having surgery today to remove her appendix. What I'm curious about is how the endometriosis diagnosis was made if she hasn't had surgery yet and how her doctor(s) can predict that the endo is on her appendix??
As endometriosis patients know, this condition is diagnosed by a surgery called laparoscopy. I have been watching the show this season and I don't know of her missing a week until now. So I am assuming she did not have a laparoscopy since this season of the show began. All of the dancers talk each week about how physically demanding the dancing is. I can't imagine how she could have had a laparoscopy recently and been dancing this season up until now. If she had been diagnosed with endo previous to this season and they knew it was on her appendix, I wonder why they wouldn't have removed her endo in the previous surgery?
Julianne Hough's medical condition is obviously none of my business. The reason I pose these questions is that I wonder if she is being given appropriate medical advice and the right diagnosis. Since she mentioned endometriosis on a show viewed by millions (many of whom may never have heard of endo before last night), I just wonder how her situation will affect our society's views about endometriosis.
Her unfortunate health problems, which have been diagnosed as endometriosis, could be an opportunity to educate the public about this illness.
I believe public figures have a right to privacy and what Julianne Hough does or doesn't say to the media or on TV about her condition is entirely up to her!! What I am wondering is if she does, in fact, have endometriosis and she does return to the rigorous dancing on the show within days (as reports indicate she might, depending on how her surgery goes), what message will the public hear about this illness??
I hope this will be an opportunity to increase awareness in the general public about endometriosis. My hope is that Julianne Hough's surgery will go smoothly and that she will have a quick recovery.
I do wonder what message will be sent to the public if she does remain in this season's competition. With daily practice being typical and with laparoscopy recovery taking several days at a minimum and even weeks for others, I worry about her pushing herself to get back on the air too soon. I worry that the pressures on her will put her health in danger. I worry that the public may not understand how debilitating endometriosis can be for some endo patients.
Some cases of endometriosis present with milder symptoms than others. I hope that people do not get the wrong idea about what endo is, how long recovery from surgery typically takes, etc.
Endometriosis patients often face attitudes like, "it's in your head" and are often misdiagnosed or dismissed by doctors for many years prior to getting a proper diagnosis and treatment.
The average diagnosis of endometriosis is 9.9 years after the onset of symptoms. Many women search for years to find the right doctor to treat and manage their endo.
My endo symptoms began at 13. I was diagnosed by laparoscopy at 23. I am now 39 years old.
My thoughts are with Julianne Hough today. She is just 20 years old. I hope that she is obtaining sound medical advice about her condition. I worry about her being diagnosed with endometriosis affecting the appendix when she appears not to have had the surgery used to diagnose endo as of yet. I wish her the best and hope that her surgery goes well!
I emailed a fellow blogger who has endometriosis this morning because I know she follows the show. As I am writing this post, I just received an email back from this fellow blogger who has endo.
Apparently, she blogged about Julianne Hough last night:
Being Chronically Ill Is A Pill
Let's hope Ms. Hough's surgery goes well and that her situation increases the public's understanding of this challenging illness.
This article was posted by Jeanne via "Jeanne's Endo Blog" at www.endendoat.blogspot.com.
