Endometriosis activist Evelyn Scott is calling on the Government to take action after being dismissed by doctors for 15 years before her severe condition was finally diagnosed. The author and campaigner says she was told she was "just having a bad period" when she was rushed to hospital bleeding heavily and in agonising pain. Her ordeal ended with a hysterectomy.
A 15-year battle for a diagnosis
Scott described waking up in agony with blood over her bedsheets and calling an ambulance. After a four-hour wait in hospital, a doctor told her, "You're just having a bad period. You need to change your pads more often and continue with the painkillers." She sobbed, having heard this before.
Her "bad periods" turned out to be endometriosis, a condition where tissue similar to the uterine lining grows in places it should not. It was diagnosed after 15 years of being told her symptoms were normal. By then, it had spread to her bowels, ovaries, and fallopian tubes. After several laparoscopic surgeries, she decided to have a hysterectomy.
Turning pain into activism
Scott spent Christmas 2024 in hospital with painful endometriosis-related bowel obstructions. Searching #endometriosis on social media, she found thousands of women with similar experiences of being dismissed and ignored. She wrote a book, A Bloody Scandal: How Medicine Fails Women in Pain, after speaking to hundreds of women.
She is now campaigning for period-inclusive sex education in all UK schools, saying that if she had been educated about what a normal period looks like, she might have sought help earlier. She also calls for more research funding and for medical professionals to be more sympathetic and willing to investigate women's pain.
A petition advocating for mixed-sex comprehensive menstrual health education in all schools across England is available for signing, alongside a manifesto on creating a better future for those impacted by endometriosis and other gynaecological conditions.
