Endometriosis patients often wait years for a diagnosis, but for many, that's not the end of the waiting. Surgery such as a laparoscopy can offer relief from the often-debilitating pain of the condition. However, wait times in Canberra's public system are blowing out, leaving many faced the option of forking out to go privately or simply languishing on waitlists with no end in sight.
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00:00As a young teenager, Catherine's severe period pain wasn't taken seriously by doctors.
00:08Until a school camp and a shattered ankle brought things to a head.
00:12I tripped and I shattered my ankle and I walked on it for the rest of the hike.
00:18Returned to Melbourne and the doctor and they were shocked that I was able to walk on it.
00:23And this is my regular GP and I just said well, it didn't hurt as much as my period did.
00:28A diagnosis took more than a decade.
00:31I was told I was perhaps a little bit hysterical, exaggerating the pain a tiny bit.
00:36And that, you know, when I was older and I got pregnant everything would be okay.
00:41When she did decide surgery was the best option, she went three years without any news from the hospital.
00:47I realised that if it just continued to get worse and I had to wait another 20 years for menopause or whatever,
00:55there was a chance I wasn't going to make it.
00:57Even though Catherine did eventually have an initial appointment with the Canberra Endometriosis Centre,
01:02she was warned it could be another year before she might be able to have surgery.
01:07She decided it was time to go private, despite the financial burden that would carry.
01:12Canberra Health Services can't say with certainty how many people are on the waiting list for endometriosis surgery
01:18because it doesn't collect that data.
01:20But earlier this year there were more than 2,000 people waiting for an appointment with the Canberra Endometriosis Centre
01:26and 700 waiting for gynaecological surgery.
01:29Like Catherine, Chantel turned to surgery when endometriosis pain began affecting her work and relationships.
01:36You can't, like it is debilitating.
01:39Heat wasn't helping, like a heat pack or a water bottle.
01:42It got to the point that I was burning myself because I needed it so hot to even try and reduce the pain.
01:50But after a year with no news and feeling ignored and let down by the system,
01:54Chantel also gave up and went private.
01:57A laparoscopy is not just a one-off.
02:00You can have it, you may need it multiple times.
02:04I'm not going to be able to afford it to go back through private multiple times.
02:10A recently established pelvic pain clinic in Canberra is helping bridge the gap
02:14while patients wait years for appointments at the endocentre.
02:18Lots of patients in this space often have felt fairly dismissed
02:22and have often been under-recognised and under-managed.
02:25Patients can currently get in for an appointment within a few weeks,
02:28but demand is already steadily increasing.