Alex Paton
One In Ten Women
Life With Endometriosis
One in then women is a very personal project. Endometriosis came into my life when I was 14 years old. I have always wanted to share my own experience with endometriosis with other young women who may be going through something similar. This practice-led research project was also an opportunity for me to develop my understanding, and be more aware of why endometriosis is so often shut down by health care professionals. Previous endometriosis campaigns and books have been majorly targeted to an older generation.
For endometriosis to be found early, women need to understand what it is, and the possible symptoms that may come along with it. This is why I have targeted One in ten women to a younger audience, in particular 14 – 20 year olds. I believe this publication will help young women in understanding what endometriosis is and hopefully get them diagnosed before it’s too late. One in ten women is a contemporary take targeted towards the younger generation.
This practice-led research project stems from wanting to raise awareness for women’s health, in particular endometriosis. Being diagnosed at the age of 14 made me feel as though my world was crashing down before me. I was alone and scared at the time, I didn’t have any friends with it nor did I feel comfortable openly talking about it with my friends because I myself didn’t fully understand what it meant to have endometriosis. Something I didn’t know at the time, is that endometriosis is far more common than I thought. In fact endometriosis affects 1 in 10 New Zealand women. Excruciating painful periods are not normal but it’s also hard to differentiate what is a normal period pain and what may be endometriosis. This is why I have created a publication all to do with endometriosis and other women’s stories with it, hopefully a young 14 year old girl will learn from this publication One in ten women. With stories from women with endometriosis to helpful tools to help ease the pain this publication covers all basis for someone who had just found out they may have endometriosis.
