'Endometriosis made zero sense to me': what will it take to stop women suffering needlessly?

Doctors behind new Australian guidelines for treatment of the painful disease say they are hampered by a lack of quality scientific evidence

Prof Jason Abbott's interest in gynaecology was piqued in the early 1990s when he treated a significant number of women complaining of troubling symptoms including - but not limited to - pelvic pain, fatigue, heavy bleeding, painful sex and painful bowel movements.

And while some of these women would eventually be given a diagnosis of endometriosis - a severe disorder in which tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows outside the uterus, causing inflammation and pain - Abbott said the identification of the disease often provided no help in treating the symptoms.