H.Con.Res. 291 (107^th): Expressing the sense of the Congress with respect to the disease endometriosis.

HCON 291 EH

Whereas endometriosis is a painful, chronic gynecologic disease;

Whereas, with such disease, tissue that is similar to the endometrium (the tissue lining the inside of the uterus) grows outside the uterus in the abdominal cavity and results in internal bleeding, inflammation, and the development of scar tissue because the tissue has no means of leaving the body (unlike the monthly development and shedding of the endometrium through the menstruation process);

Whereas an estimated 10 to 20 percent of American women of childbearing age have endometriosis;

Whereas endometriosis is a poorly understood disease and can strike women of any socioeconomic class, age, or race;

Whereas the disease can affect a woman’s ability to work, ability to reproduce, and relationships with her mate, children, and everyone around her;

Whereas infertility occurs in about 30 to 40 percent of women with endometriosis;

Whereas the cause of endometriosis is unknown;

Whereas the disease can only be definitively diagnosed through gynecologic surgery;

Whereas studies have shown that the average delay in actual diagnosis is more than nine years; and

Whereas there is no definitive cure for endometriosis: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That the Congress--

(1) strongly supports efforts to raise public awareness of endometriosis throughout the medical and lay communities; and

(2) recognizes the need for better support of patients with endometriosis, the need for physicians to better understand the disease, the need for more effective treatments, and ultimately, the need for a cure.

Passed the House of Representatives October 1, 2002.

Attest:

Clerk.

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