JULIA BRADBURY
AS the host of The Wonder of Britain, TV presenter Julia Bradbury is an expert about the natural world. But when it came to her own body, Julia had no idea anything was wrong until she went for a well-woman check-up at the age of 35.
“I’d always had quite sore, heavy periods, but nothing off the scale,” says the 48 year old. “Some months it really felt bad. I would feel very demotivated and didn’t want to get out of bed. As far as I was concerned, it was just a bad couple of days in my cycle and that was normal – all women have tricky periods.”
In actual fact, the appointment revealed that Julia suffers from endometriosis, a little known and incurable gynaecological condition that affects around 1.5 million – or one in 10 – women in the UK. And, like many of those women, Julia had never even heard of it before she was diagnosed.
In women with the condition, endometrial cells like those found in the lining of the womb grow elsewhere in the body, and bleed in sync with the menstrual cycle. It typically affects other pelvic organs, like the bowel, bladder, ovaries and Fallopian tubes, causing pain, inflammation and potentially leading to bowel and bladder problems. It can also cause infertility.
“I was at that stage in my life where fertility was on the radar and I knew I wanted children, so I was at a specialist clinic for my check-up,” explains Julia. “They did an ultrasound and said they were 99% certain I had endometriosis.
“I hadn’t heard of it before, but I immediately jumped to the worst-case scenario and thought, ‘Oh my God, am I not going to be able to have children?’ As soon as I was diagnosed, the question of my fertility became more of an emotional burden than ever before.”
Currently it takes an average of sevenand-a-half years from the onset of symptoms for women to be diagnosed with endometriosis. This is due to the complex range of symptoms and a lack of knowledge and awareness.
“Endometriosis is so tricky to diagnose, and difficult for women to deal with, because some women suffer lots of different varieties of symptoms and some don’t,” says Julia. “I do think that because I went to a specialist clinic, they recognised what it was more than a GP might have done.”
Prior to that, Julia adds: “I didn’t really sense there was anything horribly wrong. Unlike a lot of women I’ve spoken to since, I didn’t have the worst of the symptoms. For some people it’s debilitating. They’re in such agonising pain they can’t move, and depression Julia had never heard of the condition 1 in 10 women of reproductive age in the UK suffer from endometriosis
The cause is currently unknown and there is no definite cure Endometriosis is the second most common gynaecological condition in the UK
Between 30% and 50% of women who
and mood swings can be another really big symptom. It’s not that they don’t feel like getting out of bed, they physically can’t.”
Although incurable, endometriosis can be managed with pain relief, hormone treatments or surgery. For Julia, the best option was a laparoscopy – keyhole surgery to remove the are infertile suffer from endometriosis
The condition costs the UK economy £8.2billion a year in treatment, loss of work and any healthcare costs
endometrial cells – but this came with its own complications.
“As with any major surgery, there are risks,” she says. “You’re told that your bowel could be punctured and, if there’s any endometriosis attached to your Fallopian tubes, they could be damaged. That’s a big cause of worry,” she says. “Then after the surgery you need five weeks of rest, which was and remains very difficult for me. I’ve been freelance throughout my career so, while I wasn’t working, I didn’t get paid.”
Four years later, in February 2011, Julia gave birth to her first child, Zephyrus. Then, in 2015, she gave birth to twins Xanthe and Zena.
“I needed IVF the second time around due to a combination of factors. It could have been the endometriosis but also I’m an older mum,” she says candidly.
“My surgeon revealed that my case was acute, level four on a scale of one to five. Since my surgery, the symptoms have eased a lot. My periods became lighter and the mood swings less.
“I now look back and think how different things could have been if I’d been treated earlier – and equally if I had not been diagnosed.”
Julia passionately believes that much more needs to be done to support women with endometriosis, which is why she is supporting life savings company Standard Life’s partnership with Endometriosis UK to champion the needs of women living and working with the condition.
“I’ve always been very public about my condition because not enough people know about endometriosis,” says Julia. “People don’t like to talk about vaginas and periods, but I think it’s incredibly important they do.
“Not only so that women are more aware of their own symptoms and can be diagnosed sooner, but also so workplaces can support female employees with their menstrual health.
“It’s really valuable that we lose the stigma,” she adds. “Hundreds of millions of women will be having their periods while you’re reading this article. We bleed! That’s not a secret thing.”
■ Standard Life’s partnership with Endometriosis UK will form part of a broader campaign, in collaboration with other specialist partners, to champion those affected by invisible illnesses in the UK and highlight the challenges of living and working with a chronic health problem.
■ For more information go to endometriosis-uk.org or standardlife. com/sponsorship PREGNANT Julia in 2015
My periods were sore and heavy. Some months I would feel demotivated and I didn’t want to get out of bed