Pelvic Pain
Not enough is known about how diagnose and treat endometriosis and the other causes of chronic pelvic pain.
As a consequence, women are waiting an average of 5-10 years to get diagnosed. Years visiting new doctors, getting referrals to different specialist, going for tests, and possibly repeated surgeries. Years of waiting for answers with no effective treatment and little relief from pain.
BC Women's is leading research and training current and future care providers to change this dire situation. The Centre is in the forefront of clinical and laboratory research and discovering new knowledge about chronic pelvic pain and endometriosis.
Biobanking: Saving tissue to find answers
The Centre is not only dedicated to helping women today, we are transforming how we will care for women in the future.
Most surgeries involve burning off the endometriosis - effectively destroying valuable tissue samples that could be studied. BC Women's surgeons, however, meticulously cut away the endometriosis. This practice more completely treats the endometriosis and optimizes symptom relief. It also leaves intact tissue samples that, with the patient's permission, can be stored in a biobank and used in research to improve care for women suffering from these conditions.
We are one of the few facilities in the world where this is the standard practice. This is part of BC Women's vision as a leader in women's health.
Opportunity: An International Centre of Excellence
Despite the vast numbers of women afflicted, our understanding of the causes and the best way to treat chronic pelvic pain and endometriosis is severely limited. Women deserve more. They deserve relief and hope. This is the spirit that inspired BC Women's to found the Centre for Pelvic Pain + Endometriosis.
BC Women's has a unique opportunity for the Centre for to continue growing as an international pacesetter in innovative research, training and education in chronic pelvic pain and endometriosis.
BC Women's vision is to become an International Centre of Excellence in Chronic Pelvic Pain + Endometriosis. We have the patient base, the expertise, and the dedication to develop new knowledge and make discoveries that will change practice, not only in Canada, worldwide.
We need your help to make the International Centre of Excellence a reality.
Please make a donation today to support pioneering, world-class research in chronic pelvic pain and endometriosis.