Hope for a simple blood test to detect endometriosis early

Debilitating endometriosis affects at least one out of 10 women age 15 to 44. This company was just awarded $10M to develop a test that can detect it early, potentially mitigating years of suffering.

I continue my eye-rolling over medical research that resulted in men being able to take a simple blood test to screen for prostatic cancer, but women face a medieval torture chamber of pulling, squishing and radiation from machines that add millions in costs to healthcare…particularly since breast and prostatic cancer are genetically related. You have to wonder who was doing the research that resulted in that. Go to CHAT to tell us your rant on this one!

But I digress.

Endometriosis—tremendously debilitating—can take from four to 11 years to diagnose, and the today’s diagnostic methods are themselves invasive. Aspira Women’s Health in Connecticut was just awarded $10M to develop a blood test to detect endometriosis early—one of many potential leaps forward this year in women’s health research. What a welcome concept! (Also see this post for more good news on women’s health research and investment.)