Endometriosis - What We Know and Don’t Know

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Content Warning: Mentions of suicide/self harm

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In this episode, Rebecca sits down with Lan Randhawa (they/them) and Kate Wahl (she/her) to talk about all things endometriosis. Lan is a member of the Patient Research Advisory Board for the Endometriosis Pelvic Pain Lab at UBC. Kate is a graduate researcher focused on advancing sexual and reproductive health and has co-led a study on menstrual health and endometriosis education in schools. We dive into what can be done to address some of the gaps in the diagnosis and treatment of endometriosis, despite its debilitating and widespread impacts.

Links to resources mentioned in this episode:

Endo Act: https://endoact.ca/
Pelvic Pain Clinic at BC Women’s: http://www.bcwomens.ca/our-services/gynecology/pelvic-pain-endometriosis
Patient Research Advisory Board at BC Women’s (if you can’t find this then thats ok): https://yonglab.med.ubc.ca/endometriosis-patient-research-advisory-board/
Endo Knows no Gendo (facebook group): https://m.facebook.com/groups/117791448846494
https://endopain.endometriosis.org

Biography:

Lan Randhawa is an Emergency Medical Call Taker and Dispatcher for BC Ambulance and a member of the Patient Research Advisory Board for the Endometriosis Pelvic Pain Laboratory at UBC. They are passionate about using their personal experience with Endometriosis, Adenomyosis and Pelvic Pain to further research and innovations in order to help others suffering from these diseases. Since April, they have been a part of ENDO Act Canada, where they are a part of the Advocacy and Communications team, helping them with their mission to drive policy action on Endometriosis in Canada. Since their partial hysterectomy in 2019, they have been able to enjoy living a relatively pain free life with their husband and two beautiful dogs while they anxiously await their adopted children to join their family.

Kate Wahl is a graduate student researcher interested in new strategies for moving evidence into health policy and practice. She uses qualitative methods to develop and evaluate approaches for sharing research findings with stakeholders including the public, healthcare providers, and policy makers. Kate's focus is on advancing sexual and reproductive health, and she is currently investigating patient decision aids, education programs, and storytelling in this context. Recently, Kate has co-led a study of menstrual health and endometriosis education in schools and she is involved with endometriosis advocacy through the Pan-Canadian organization EndoAct.

(C) UBC Medicine Learning Network