Many of you EndoSisters may have heard, or are following, the use of the biomarker CA-125 as a possible indicator of the presence of Endometriosis. I had my annual pap smear appointment this week and figured I’d ask my doc to see if they’d run blood tests with my usual annual bloodwork.
I went in fully aware and understanding that CA-125 is considered an unreliable test for Endometriosis for many reasons: it could be elevated due to other factors, it may read a false positive, or CA-125 levels may vary naturally throughout our menstrual cycles.
That’s right! You get to choose, my lovely readers!
Over the past several months, we have held a Bloomin’ Uterus Endometriosis Awareness Coloring Contest. Each month that we received submission, a winner was chosen. The contest ended March 31, 2017, and now YOU get to choose the Grand Prize Winner!
What the heck does that mean? That means you vote and I’ll work with Teespring.com to make sure the winning image is screenprinted on a t-shirt, and 100% of the sale profits of those shirts will be donated to the Endometriosis Foundation of America!
I was contacted by Juno Medical – they’ve released a new Endo Infographic for Endometriosis Awareness Month and I’d like to share it with YOU! Like Tim said in his email to me, “All the effort is wasted if we don’t manage to raise awareness for the topic.”
I’ve turned into a girl…and had to buy a kaboodle!
Many of you may have read about parabens, dioxins, and endocrine disruptors that may play a role in influencing my Endometriosis symptoms (plus I’m a dirty hippy deep down inside). I’ve kind of been on this little crusade since last year to go through my personal products and read the labels and find alternatives that I like as much (if not better). Well, my little collection is growing and I figured I’d share what I’ve fallen in love with during this search. I’ve still got a few products in my cabinets that I’m looking to replace..but that’ll come eventually.
I’m not being paid or compensated to do these reviews. These are just products that I’ve discovered and truly enjoy and wanted to pass on the word. As I bump into more products that I love, I’ll continue to update this page with links and my thoughts…so feel free to come back and check it out. More info on the products, including their ingredients, can be found on their respective links!
My good friend and fellow EndoSister, Sarah Soward, has created this amazing and informative graphic about Endometriosis. Please click on her link (here) and share it on social media. Tag your fellow EndoSisters, friends, and family! Spread the word! If you’d like to reach out to Sarah, you can also do so through her webpage!
Thank you, Sarah, for all that you do! This is an amazing piece of EndoAwareness Art!!! Your creativity is limitless! Your paintings are beautiful. Your support is never-ending. And you are such an incredible woman and inspiration. ❤
I changed my Facebook profile photo and linked to our “What is Endo?” entry. I’m also making similar “frames” for anyone who would like one. If you would, just shoot me an email with your photo and I’ll whip one out to you. Let me know if you’d like me to alter your pic to have a yellow tone like mine, too.
I’ve been nominated by fellow EndoWarrior, blogger, and friend, The Endo Zone (maaaan, I’d really like to use her real name, but respecting privacy! YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE!), for the One Lovely Blog Award! This is a huge honor for me since I’ve loved her blog since we first met. And she’s always been a huge encouragement to me, not only for my blog, but in my life, for my journey, and supporting my efforts to raise awareness and funds. You, my dear, are an incredible woman – and thank you for the nomination. ❤ I highly recommend her blog – she’s recently undergone another Endo surgery and I enjoy following her healing progress, as well as uplifting and informative posts.
A local EndoWarrior, artist, and good friend of mine, Sarah Soward, created this fun and beautiful little graphic after my recent conversation with a local retired gynecologist. Wishing more doctors, friends, and family truly understood just what a problem Endometriosis is…
Like the image? Feel free to share it! Like Sarah says, “We have to talk about the problem in order to solve the problem. “
As always, it’s fun for me to look back and see the numbers of previous year, see what the most popular topic was, and which countries have been viewing the blog the most, and what searches led people to Bloomin’ Uterus. If you’re interested, here’s a recap!
In 2016, we had 100,944 views! Compare that to 2015 (29,334 views) and 2014 (1,1012 views). That’s absolutely mind-boggling to me!
Keep it up! The more awareness we spread, the more community we create, the more we learn, and the more we fight for self-advocacy: the better! We are a strong community of Warriors and Sisters. Thank you!!
I’m hoping to continue to reach all throughout the world and continue to help search for resources, support groups, and surgeons in all areas. This truly is a global problem. Feel left out ’cause I didn’t mention your country? Oh trust me, there’s plenty of them! Find yourself on this map:
And the Top 5 searches which led people to the site:
1. “the skin” had 23 searches
2. “what is endo” had 15 searches
3. “symptoms of endometriosis in brain” had 13 searches
4. “endometriosis in the lungs” and “endometriosis in brain” tied with 12 searches
5. “wurn technique” and “endometriosis in lungs” tied with 11 searches
Thank you for your visits, your comments, your stories, your emails, your words of wisdom, and your support. We are definitely not alone in all of this. And if there’s ever a topic or question you’d like to address, please reach out to me. You can email me.
“
United States with 56,651 views
United Kingdom with 12,805 views
Canada with 5,204 views
Australia with 4,524 views
Guyana with 2,336 views
Bloomin' Uterus 