On Tuesday, Bindi Irwin, wildlife conservationist and daughter of the late "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin, detailed her decade-long struggle with endometriosis, which resulted in "trying to function through the pain" after a doctor told her "it was simply something you deal with as a woman." Experts are advocating for increased awareness, as Irwin's story mirrors the experience of countless others.

What you need to know about endometriosis

Endometriosis is a condition that develops when tissue resembling the endometrium — the tissue that lines the uterus — grows in other parts of the body, including the reproductive organs, bowel, and bladder.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the tissue triggers a chronic inflammatory response that often leads to the development of scar tissue and lesions. When this occurs, patients can experience symptoms like severe pelvic pain, extremely heavy periods, bloating, nausea, depression, and infertility.

"The variable and broad symptoms of endometriosis mean that health-care workers do not easily diagnose it," WHO said, calling for increased awareness.

Experts have not identified a specific cause of the disease, and it is typically treated with medication or surgery, the Washington Post reports.

While endometriosis affects up to one in 10 people with uteruses, according to UCLA Health, the condition often takes years to diagnose, leaving many undiagnosed into their 30s or 40s.

According to Linda Griffith, a top biological engineer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, some people simply do not understand that others are dealing with these terrible symptoms because they themselves do not experience them. "Period privilege," as Griffith called it, can be active or passive.

Griffith said she frequently encounters active "period privilege," which can include statements like, "It can't be that bad." Sometimes, this mentality is perpetuated by providers. For example, the gynecologist who treated Griffith's niece for endometriosis told her sister that she was making everything up.

Endometriosis advocates, including Griffith, have noted that the stigma surrounding period pain and chronic conditions must be addressed to make progress. "There's many period problems: Heavy menstrual bleeding, fibroids, all of these kinds of things. You just don't talk about your period. So that has to change," Griffith said.

Advocates speak out about their endometriosis journeys

In recent years, more people have been speaking out about their experience with endometriosis. On Tuesday, Irwin detailed her decade-long struggle with the condition.

"For 10yrs I've struggled with insurmountable fatigue, pain & nausea. Trying to remain a positive person & hide the pain has been a very long road," Irwin wrote in a social media post.

"These last 10yrs have included many tests, doctors visits, scans, etc," she explained. "A doctor told me it was simply something you deal with as a woman & I gave up entirely, trying to function through the pain."

For Iriwin, "Going in for surgery was scary but I knew I couldn't live like I was," she said. "Every part of my life was getting torn apart because of the pain."

During the surgery, doctors found 37 lesions, some of which were "very deep & difficult to remove." However, Irwin said she finally feels validated after struggling with her symptoms for a decade.

"[My doctor's] first words to me when I was in recovery were, 'How did you live with this much pain?'" Irwin recalled. "Validation for years of pain is indescribable."

"I'm sharing my story for anyone who reads this and is quietly dealing with pain and no answers," Irwin wrote. "Let this be your validation that your pain is real and you deserve help."

Irwin's story mirrors the experience of countless others, including a number of celebrities who have spoken out about their endometriosis journeys. In March 2017, actress and former "Dancing with the Stars" judge Julianne Hough spoke out nine years after her diagnosis.

"I started having symptoms when I was 15, but didn't really realize that it was anything more than just being a woman," Hough said. "It was sort of a relief to know that I actually had a name to the pain and that it wasn't just part of being a woman, and that I had to tough it out."

In August 2020, model Olivia Culpo spoke on Instagram about her symptoms for the first time. "Painful periods are not normal," she said. "The reason why I'm so passionate about talking about this is because my doctor tells me about people who come to her in their 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s about not having been able to have kids. The thing that's so sad about that is because they may have had endometriosis that may have affected their fertility in some way and if they had caught it earlier, they could have frozen their eggs. There would have been more options."

In a 2009 speech at the Endometriosis Foundation of America's (EFA) annual Blossom Ball, actress and comedian Whoopi Goldberg said that she was "very, very lucky" to receive an early diagnosis.

"I thought we all knew about endometriosis. I thought we all knew that it was there and existed, why it happens," Goldberg said. "It never occurred to me that somehow women didn't know about it. It just never occurred to me."

Padma Lakshmi, who cofounded EFA in 2009, was diagnosed with endometriosis in 2006 after experiencing symptoms for more than 20 years. One of the organization's goals is to help raise awareness so that others will not have to suffer in silence.

"One of the things I'm most proud of is that we started an international conversation that really wasn't happening," Lakshmi said. "And now there are others — Endo Warriors, Endo Sisters, I see them on social media and I love it. They were the seeds we planted that are now blossoming." (Restrepo, NPR, 3/8; Hassan, Washington Post, 3/8; Nardino, US Weekly, 3/7)