Imagine if it took up to ten years to be diagnosed with asthma or diabetes, and the best hope of a cure was only temporary, via surgery; welcome to the life of an endometriosis sufferer.
For up to one-in-seven women, that is an everyday reality, with endometriosis being just as common as those other two much better-known conditions.
Endometriosis is finally starting to receive the level of public attention it deserves, considering how common and debilitating it is, but two major challenges remain: earlier diagnosis and better treatment.
Professor Caroline Gargett leads a dedicated group of researchers at Hudson Institute working in both these areas, and there has been some exciting news from her lab in recent months.
Simple, painless endometriosis diagnosis
Her team is working to address the diagnosis challenge by finding a way to detect endo sooner and without the need for invasive surgery.
Dr Shanti Gurung is building on the team's discovery that menstrual fluid could be used as a non-invasive diagnostic, and her latest study, published in the Journal of Extracellular Vesicles, provides major encouragement.
Her project involves measuring and profiling small extracellular vesicles found in menstrual fluid, with the aim of developing a simple diagnostic test, no more complicated than a blood test.
"Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are nano-sized parcels that cells secrete for efficient communication with other cells," Dr Gurung said. "In this project, we investigated proteins in EVs from women with and without endometriosis and identified dysfunctional cellular communication, which could help us in early detection of the disease."
"This is the first study to date to identify a comprehensive list of protein cargo and their differences in the menstrual fluid derived extracellular vesicles from women with endometriosis and unaffected women. Our findings need further validation in a larger cohort to confirm their utility in endometriosis diagnosis"
What this means is that we are now a big step closer to creating a non-invasive way to detect endometriosis, so it can be treated sooner.
Saving time, money and pain
This has the potential to save time, money and huge amounts of pain and discomfort for the many thousands of people who have the condition.
Dr Gurung said endometriosis affects around a million Australians and 200,000 Victorians.
"It has a huge impact on their overall quality of life. Apart from severe pain and fertility issues, it significantly impacts the ability of those affected to attend school, complete education or establish and maintain careers and families," she said.
"In Australia, the average annual cost of endometriosis is $21,000 per individual, mainly due to productivity loss."
A simple, painless early detection test would make a life-changing difference to all those adolescents and women, their families and the entire community.
