BBC Radio 4 Today host Emma Barnett has revealed she had a hysterectomy, something she says she 'never wanted to have', as a result of her endometriosis.
Barnett, 41, said her symptoms became 'a lot worse' in the final weeks of filming her BBC documentary Fighting Endometriosis.
What is Endometriosis?
Endometriosis is where cells similar to those in the lining of the womb (uterus) grow in other parts of the body. It often develops in areas around the womb, such as the fallopian tubes, ovaries and lining of the pelvis. It also sometimes affects organs such as the bladder or bowel.
Symptoms include period pain, pain in the lower stomach or pelvic area, extreme tiredness and pain or bleeding in other areas. There is no known cure and treatment is used to help manage symptoms such as pain.
Details of the Surgery
Just two days before the programme aired in June, Barnett said she underwent an 'extensive' endometriosis surgery, which included a hysterectomy and gallbladder removal.
Writing on Substack, Barnett said: 'I felt blindsided and robbed, even though my care had been superb and doctors, utterly brilliant. But this was not the road I had envisioned for myself. I had the hysterectomy I never wanted to have.'
She added: 'I didn’t want this procedure because it’s major surgery. It’s frightening and a hard recovery – something I am living now. I didn’t want it because I wanted there to have been medicine or treatment to help my endometriosis. It felt and feels too extreme.'
Impact and Recovery
The broadcaster said that, before she agreed to have the surgery, her symptoms became so bad she could 'barely function at home or in work'. She added: 'Is such major surgery what anyone would ‘choose’? Yes, I officially and legally consented to the procedures – in so much as you can know what you are letting yourself in for.'
Barnett said she did not 'buy into the idea that the womb is sacred and at the heart of being a woman. I am still very much a woman and me'. She added: 'I am grateful to it because somehow it managed to help me have two children. Having your womb removed without having children if you wanted them is a totally different situation – one I must acknowledge.'
Barnett said she is now recovering from the surgery and is 'physically much stronger' than she was after weeks of being bedbound. She wrote: 'Early indications are that the pain is very much improved – although I am still healing from the surgery itself so that also feels uncertain and frightening to admit – even to myself.'
'There is a lot more to say – but two opposing things can be true in this black and white world and here’s mine for now: I think I will end up being grateful for a surgery I never wanted to have.'
