Sammy White’s latest social media post will surely inspire people with endometriosis, telling her fans she “wins” this round against the painful condition.
Endometriosis affects the lives of roughly 10% of the world’s population, the WHO reports, which is a staggering 190 million sufferers across the globe.
The WHO describes endometriosis as “a disease in which tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows outside the uterus. It can cause severe pain in the pelvis and make it harder to get pregnant.
“Endometriosis can start at a person’s first menstrual period and last until menopause.” The condition leads to scarring and inflammation around the tissue, causing severe, life-impacting and often debilitating pain in the pelvic region.
While there is no cause, cure or prevention strategy for endometriosis, medicines and surgery can treat the condition in cases like White’s. You can find out more about endometriosis here.
Posting to Instagram and Facebook, White shared a photo of herself post-surgery with a smile and thumbs up, accompanying the image with the caption, “I win this round, endo”. She also tagged the official Endometriosis Australia Instagram account, an organisation that works to raise awareness, “provide education programs and help fund research”.
Fellow country music artist Lyn Bowtell commented, “Sending lots of love #endowarrior”, as Caitlyn Shadbolt added, “Oh chicken, big big love!! ❤️❤️ hoping for a speedy recovery ”. White also received support from Melanie Dyer, Amber Lawrence, Nat Pearson, and many family, friends and fans.
Last month, Bowtell opened up about her ongoing fight against endometriosis on Triple M Newcastle. Bowtell told Tanya and Steve that some women “covered in endo” don’t realise until they struggle to have children, while others, like Bowtell, experience dark fluid-filled cysts, often called “chocolate cysts”.
“It sounds fun; it isn’t fun,” Bowtell continued. “I had one grow on my ovaries six years ago, and it ruptured. That was pretty painful. That’s the most pain I’ve ever felt in my whole life.”
On surgery, Bowtell explained, “Surgery removes it, they use a laser, and it gets rid of it, so it can grow on your bowel, kidneys, it can grow anywhere, and a lot of women get terrible pain from endo, and they don’t know what it is and the weird thing about it is, you can be stage one or stage four and it doesn’t necessarily equal pain.”