Lara Stevens says endometriosis is like the cancer she had as a child, with the potential to spread and damage multiple organs – but she feels it isn’t treated with the necessary urgency.

“Endometriosis can progress and I don’t know where it is and what it will do next,” said the 36-year-old, who was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma at age seven.

Gynecological waiting lists in Wales have increased by 92% over the past four years, yet experts believe it is considered less urgent than other surgeries.

The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists is calling for long-term investment in women’s health, and the Welsh Government said it is a key priority and a women’s health plan is due to come out this year.

endometriosis is a gynecological condition associated with menstruation where tissue similar to the lining of the uterus is found in other areas of the body including the fallopian tubes, pelvis, bowels, vagina and intestines.

In rare cases it has also been found in the lungs, eyes, spine and brain. It was once thought that the only place in the body where endometriosis did not occur was the spleen, but in 2020 it was found there as well.

Symptoms often include severe to debilitating pain in the pelvic area, fatigue, and heavy menstruation, and the condition is also associated with infertility.

Lara became pregnant shortly after surgery to remove endometriosis and recently had her second child.

But he said a wound remained on his intestine and he was likely to need further surgery.

She is now under the care of NHS gynecology services, where the wait for regular follow-up appointments can also be long.

There are currently over 50,000 women in Wales waiting for gynecological services in hospital, with almost half of these women waiting longer than the 26 week target, and over a third of women waiting longer than 36 weeks. Waiting till.

“I personally understand why cancer is important,” she said.

“What I’m saying is that maybe it should be considered just as important, because it’s a condition that can be unpredictable, can get worse, and it needs to be monitored.

“Constantly feeling like you’re struggling to get that help makes it difficult.”

Recent NHS performance figures show four other specialties with longer waiting lists than gynaecology.

However, when you only take into account those who are eligible for gynaecology, gynecology services per capita are equivalent to the worst waits in Wales, and worse than England or Scotland.

Geeta Kumar, vice president of clinical quality at the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecology and clinical lead for women’s services in North Wales, said there were several reasons for the growing waiting list.

“Women’s awareness of conditions has increased – which is for the good, but we also feel that women’s health has not been prioritized for a long time,” she said.

She said there has been a concerted effort to move away from describing conditions such as pelvic pain, prolapse and endometriosis as “benign gynecological conditions” and instead use the term “non-cancerous.”

“Benign gives the impression that it is not urgent, so when it comes to elective planned lists, gynecology is often not prioritized, compared to other surgical specialties,” he said.

This phrase is also seen by many patients as minimizing or trivializing the symptoms, which Dr. Kumar described as “extremely debilitating.”

“Women are not only reporting physical harm, but their mental health is also being affected, with some not even being able to leave the house because of the condition, whether it is the pain or the bleeding that results. May they suffer.”

Deliath Jewell, the plaid Cymru member of the Senedd (MS), who sits on the cross-party group on women’s health in the Senedd, said the delay in seeing a specialist was compounded when many women felt their symptoms were dismissed. and she is struggling to recover. Specified.

“Women are often not believed or told that they have to endure pain,” she said.

“They go through years of chronic pain – gas burning, they’re told maybe they just suffer from anxiety, or it’s all in their mind.”

In July 2022 the Welsh Government published a quality statement on women’s health, which acknowledged “significant inequalities in care between men and women”.

Targets were set to publish a 10-year women’s health plan this year – similar strategies are to be published in England in 2022 and Scotland in 2021, but Ms Jewell said she was disappointed that Wales was waiting longer. Had been.

Liz Williams, vice-chair of the patient-led charity Fair Treatment for the Women of Wales (FTWW), said some members were forced to quit their jobs, have relationships broken down, or fall into debt as a result of the symptoms. They felt they had no choice but to pay for private care.

She added, “We don’t believe women can access services equally – they are being let down.”