Nevertheless, she persisted

When Niki Grace arrived at Markham Stouffville Hospital, she was given an extraordinary gift: a surgeon who took her endometriosis pain seriously

At nearly 50 years old, Niki Grace understood her body well enough to know something wasn't right. Having spent the last eight years grappling with the excruciating effects of endometriosis, the Australian expat and rehabilitation personal trainer knew pain, but in March 2021, her condition became unbearable. "I had nerve pain running all down my legs," she says. "It was like someone was trying to rip my pubic bone out."

She was at her wit's end by the time she met Dr. Yoav Brill, a highly regarded obstetrician/gynecologist (OB/GYN) specializing in complex endometriosis at Oak Valley Health's Markham Stouffville Hospital (MSH). She begged him to perform laparoscopic surgery to remove her ovaries. "I was just bawling my eyes out," Grace recounts. "I said to him, 'I have no quality of life right now."

Endometriosis is a chronic inflammatory disease of the female reproductive system. It's driven by the hormonal cycle, with no cure. Tissue similar to the lining of the uterus, known as the endometrium, grows in other parts of the body. The condition is characterized by debilitating pain in the pelvic region; however, that tissue can attach or burrow into virtually any organ, creating scar tissue that could impede the organ's ability to function. A recent study estimates that one million Canadians are affected.

A MISUNDERSTOOD DISEASE

Despite its prevalence, many family practitioners, nurses and even gynecologists have a limited grasp of this condition and how it can manifest. On average, it takes more than five years for those affected by endometriosis to get a diagnosis, which inevitably delays treatment. Those years may be filled with terrible pain. Even after diagnosis, finding an effective treatment can be a haphazard guessing game to find what works.