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Diana to run London Marathon to raise funds for endometriosis research
March 2, 2009 3:50 PM
Diana Wallis, the Liberal Democrat MEP for Yorkshire & the Humber a Vice-President of the European Parliament, has chosen to support the World Endometriosis Research Foundation (WERF) when she attempts to cover the 26.2 mile course through London on 26 April.
Ms Wallis, a Vice-President of the European Parliament, is a former endometriosis sufferer herself.
"By my mid-30s I was in almost continuous pain - endometriosis really bedevilled my life!
"No-one diagnosed what was wrong with me in over six years of attempts. I was variously told I had pelvic inflammatory disease, egg cysts, blocked fallopian tubes and even, by one consultant, that I was pregnant (when I knew that was the last thing I could be). It was finally an article in Cosmopolitan combined with a more sympathetic female GP that put me on the right track so that, in my late 30s just less than nine months married, I ended up having what was euphemistically termed 'a total abdominal clearance' ie. a full hysterectomy".
WERF Chief Executive, Lone Hummelshoj, is delighted by Ms Wallis's support, but regretfully recognises her story too well:
"We hear about diagnostic delay, misdiagnosis, and mistreatment all the time, yet we are talking about a disease which affects 10% of women in the prime of their lives! There is no cure and very limited funds made available to investigate disease mechanisms to improve treatments. It is our hope that Diana's support of WERF will help legislators realise that it is time to invest in benign women's health issues".
Diana Wallis feels that running has helped her both physically and mentally, but added: "while I was suffering from endometriosis, exercise was the last thing I felt like - it just hurt too much".
Ms Wallis was the first British woman of any political party to be elected to the role of Vice-President of the European Parliament in over 20 years. She said:
"I have subsequently tried in this role to raise awareness of the disease Europe-wide, and in 2005 we had a big campaign around a written declaration to get MEPs to sign; we achieved the largest number of signatures ever, at that time, on a single women's health issue. It certainly helped in trying to get more attention focused on the disease which affects more than 100 million women worldwide.
"Last autumn I knew that I should get a guaranteed place in the London Marathon 2009 and so at last, now aged 54, I shall have the chance to raise funds for a cause that means so much to millions of women and their families. We have to find lasting treatment and a proper cure for this disease and that is why I have chosen WERF to run for, given the vital work they do in this field. I'd hate to see the next generation of women suffer like I did".
Notes:
Endometriosis is a condition where tissue, similar to the lining of the uterus, is found in other areas of the body (mainly in the abdominal cavity). This tissue responds to a woman's hormonal cycle. This abnormal tissue can give rise to nodules, lesions, cysts in the ovaries, and adhesions, resulting in inflammation, pain and infertility. Treatments include painkillers, hormonal treatments (often with brutal side effects), surgery, and hysterectomy. None of these treatments guarantee relief, and there is no known cure (www.endometriosisfoundation.org/endometriosis.php)
Endometriosis is predominantly found in women of reproductive age from all ethnic and social groups, and the consequence of the disease has a major impact on quality of life for the estimated 100 million sufferers worldwide.
The World Endometriosis Research Foundation (WERF) was created in 2006 as the first global charity to foster research in endometriosis to improve knowledge and treatments. Its vision is a day when no woman is crippled by endometriosis nor prevented by the disease from having children. To achieve this WERF carries out well powered, international multi-centre trials, and support specific research projects investigating disease mechanisms. WERF is now working with 32 centres in 21 countries (www.endometriosisfoundation.org)
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