Pop star Ella Henderson has revealed she has endometriosis and has partnered with a charity to raise awareness of the condition.<\/p>\n
In a video message on her Instagram account, the multi-platinum selling artist said the last few years had been \u00ab\u00a0a little bit of a rollercoaster\u00a0\u00bb because of her symptoms but she had finally been diagnosed in January.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0I’ve really been struggling, not only with stomach bloating, physical pain but also with my mental health on the basis that I thought at one point this was all just in my head,\u00a0\u00bb she said.<\/p>\n
The 29-year-old, from Tetney in Lincolnshire, said she wanted to share her experience to start \u00ab\u00a0an open conversation\u00a0\u00bb about the condition.<\/p>\n
Endometriosis causes cells similar to those in the lining of the womb to grow in other parts of the body, leading to severe pain.<\/p>\n
It affects one in ten women in the UK and takes an average of almost nine years to get a diagnosis, according to Endometriosis UK.<\/p>\n
Henderson said although her own diagnosis had been \u00ab\u00a0devastating\u00a0\u00bb, it had also been \u00ab\u00a0empowering\u00a0\u00bb and she had partnered with the charity to raise awareness.<\/p>\n
In her video message, she said she was determined to educate herself and get people talking about the condition.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0I don’t want future generations of women to go through what I did. I know that my situation isn’t unique and too many women unnecessarily suffer with undiagnosed endometriosis for far too long,\u00a0\u00bb she said.<\/p>\n
Henderson, who rose to fame on ITV show The X Factor, said speaking to other women and learning to understand the condition had been \u00ab\u00a0crucial\u00a0\u00bb.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0For me, I really struggled thinking this was just something I was going through,\u00a0\u00bb she said.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0I want you to know if you are going through this you are not alone.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n
Emma Cox, chief executive of Endometriosis UK, praised Henderson for sharing her experience in such \u00ab\u00a0an open and frank way\u00a0\u00bb.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0Ella’s willingness to share her story will no doubt help others in their diagnosis journey, helping them access the care they need,\u00a0\u00bb she said.<\/p>\n
As well as raising awareness, the charity campaigns to improve education in schools and for healthcare practitioners to be trained to recognise the symptoms.<\/p>\n
Ms Cox added: \u00ab\u00a0Without education and awareness, those with the disease will continue to face challenges in getting a diagnosis and accessing the right care at the right time, as Ella did.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n
Listen to highlights from Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.<\/p>\n
Download the BBC News app from the App Store for iPhone and iPad or Google Play for Android devices<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Pop star Ella Henderson has revealed she has endometriosis and has partnered with a charity to raise awareness of the condition. In a video message on her Instagram account, the multi-platinum selling artist said the last few years had been \u00ab\u00a0a little bit of a rollercoaster\u00a0\u00bb because of her symptoms but she had finally been […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-8916","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-uncategorized"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8916","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8916"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8916\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8916"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8916"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8916"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}