Driven by her own pain

Endometriosis is a painful and often debilitating disease that affects an estimated 6.5 million women in the U.S. It occurs when tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows outside of it, causing pain, inflammation and sometimes infertility.

Despite the staggering numbers, doctors and patients say research has been chronically underfunded, as WGEM-TV in Quincy, Illinois and Action News 5 in Memphis, Tennessee recently reported. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has spent less than one-tenth of 1% of its budget during the past decade to study the disease.

Now a University of Cincinnati College of Medicine researcher is using her own struggle to bring hope to millions, by developing what is believed to be the first at-home diagnostic test.

Katie Burns, associate professor in the Division of Environmental Genetics and Molecular Toxicology in the Department of Environmental and Public Health Sciences, was just 10 when her life took a sudden turn.

“I felt like someone was taking a washcloth and ringing it and pulling it to get out the absolute last ounce of water possible and then stabbing me,” she recalled.

Some doctors called it growing pains. Others said it was all in her head.

“I felt so alone, felt so unknown,” said Burns.

It wasn’t until college that she finally learned the cause.

“I went and I had five different surgeries for endometriosis. I’ve done chemical menopause, I’ve done hypnosis, I’ve done acupuncture, I’ve done all kinds of diet changes,” said Burns.

When more surgery became too dangerous, doctors prescribed a progestin IUD and extensive pelvic physical therapy. But Burns didn’t stop there — she turned her struggle into science.

“My ability to study saved me and saved my life, really,” she said.

Burns studies how the immune system and environmental chemicals contribute to endometriosis. Until now, surgery has been the only way to confirm the disease. But her lab is developing what they believe will be the first at-home diagnostic test.

“What we wanna do is set and develop a kit where we’re able to send the menstrual fluid back to a lab from the patient and be analyzed in the laboratory,” Burns explained.

Early studies show the test is 95 to 99% accurate.

“Finally, let’s make some changes. Let’s do something,” Burns stated.

Currently, it takes on average seven years to get a diagnosis of endometriosis. This at-home diagnostic kit could cut that to months. The test is now in the patenting stage and could be prescribed by doctors within a few years, offering a long-overdue breakthrough for millions of women worldwide.

Watch the full WGEM-TV report.

Watch the full Action News 5 report.

Featured image at top: iStock.