Soda and saltines. Imagine these two food items suddenly becoming your best friends. Imagine now sitting in your bedroom, in the dark, staring up at the ceiling in the hopes that the nausea/pain spell you're experiencing will pass so you can sleep at least two hours before getting up for work.

Who or what am I describing? A young woman battling endometriosis and yes, this woman is me! Endometriosis is a painful reproductive and immunological disease affecting more than seven million women and adolescent girls in the United States and is the leading cause of female infertility, chronic pelvic pain and gynecological surgery. Women who face this disease on a daily basis all share the same worries and concerns - the fear of what is to happening to our bodies...the hope that the pain will go away and the desire for more answers on how or why we have this disease.

One visible player in the fight for endometriosis awareness and education is the Endometriosis Research Center founded in 1997 because of the limited research, support, education and awareness for endometriosis. To celebrate Endometriosis Awareness Month, the Center is giving the public, whether it be doctors or people whose loved ones have the disease, the opportunity to get involved by displaying Center brochures and endometriosis information on school campuses, offices, stores; participating in their "Adopt a Doctor" campaign and giving presentations to local health classes, libraries, hospitals and clinics.

Please help in kicking-off Endometriosis Awareness Month by visiting the Endometriosis Research Center Web site at: www.endocenter.org to learn more about the disease and how the Center has taken monumental steps in creating awareness in communities across the country and world. In addition, please feel free to contact me if you would be interested in speaking with a woman who suffers this debilitating disease.

Best regards,
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