A Nova Scotia woman is on her way south of the border to receive surgery for her endometriosis — a procedure she couldn’t easily access in Canada.
Steph McNamara of Halifax says the long wait times for gynaecological services in Canada forced her hand, as her options were limited while her pain persists.
“I’m only 37 and I just have so much more life to live. And it’s just been it’s such a debilitating disease,” she said.
McNamara was only 24 when she found out she could have endometriosis, a condition where tissue grows outside the uterus and causes severe pain. She’s had multiple ER visits, severe bloating and bladder issues.
Other than birth control, she was told there wasn’t much doctors could do.
“In the last year, I was experiencing a really rare symptom. It’s called umbilical endometriosis where (there’s) bleeding from my bellybutton, bleeding from my navel. And this caused really extreme symptoms,” she said.
That was more than McNamara could bear and she decided to seek surgical excision in Maine. She left Monday for the procedure.
While the treatment is sometimes offered in Nova Scotia, it can come with a lengthy wait.
“I think it’s wonderful that the IWK clinic exists for endometriosis and pelvic pain,” McNamara said referring to a specialized clinic that opened at IWK Health Centre in 2021.
“The problem, though, is, is that somebody like myself who asked to be referred there, I would have waited two, two and a half, three years to get in.”
Instead, she’s looking at paying $50,000 for the surgery in the United States, which prompted her to max out credit cards and take out a bank loan.
Her friends have been trying to help her through an online fundraiser.
One friend, Kristen Herrington, is also hosting events and auctioning off an art piece at her art gallery, Togetherland.
“It’s a difficult thing for women to talk about in the first place, and then when you’re faced with a life-altering disease that prevents you from carrying on with just the day-to-day,” Herrington said. “This is a discussion we need to be talking about.”
That’s why McNamara and her friends hope that her story will spread a wider message and bring attention to endometriosis and care.
It’s a message Dr. Elizabeth Randle, a gynaecologist with the IWK Health Centre, also wants to share. She says the hospital has a multi-disciplinary surgical team that can provide the care, but agrees wait times can be difficult.
“At the governmental level, in terms of allocation of resources, more education, more advocacy can only help,” she said.
In a statement, the province says a new pelvic health clinic will open in Dartmouth next year, and a $1.6-million investment in gynaecological services is currently improving wait time.
Meanwhile, McNamara says she’s ready to live her life to the fullest, and hopes other women will have that chance too.
“I hope that the government… federal and provincial, sees that there’s just way too many women struggling,” McNamara said.