• 1st Prize – Overnight accommodation and breakfast for two at Capricorn Resort
• 2nd runner up – Women’s Delight Hamper (cookbook, bottle of wine, coffee mugs, candle, body wash, towel and chocolates)
• 3rd runner up – Summer’s Day Hamper (beach bag, towel, large umbrella, sarong and Natio skin care products)
• 4th runner up – Beautiful beaded jewellery
• 5th runner up – Hamper (L'Oréal lipstick, English Rose boxed candle, cook book, skin care products, body wash, Australis Eye Brow Defining Kit, note book and small beauty case)
• 6th runner up – Big Ben teapot and ‘Born to Shop’ coffee mug
• 7th runner up – ‘Live, Love, Laugh’ money box and Body Shop products
• 8th runner up – 2 x Comedy DVD’s and box of chocolates

Drawn – March 31, 2012

Tickets – $2.00 each or 3 for $5.00

Please contact Kimberley on 0420 976 482 or via the form below for more information or to buy tickets. Thank you for supporting QENDO.

Theme: Pain Management

When: March 3, 2012 – 1.30pm – 4.00pm
Where: QIMR
Level B Meeting Rooms
Clive Berghofer Cancer Research Centre
300 Herston Road, Herston
Cost: $5.00/person

Street parking or Wilson Parking available cnr Gilchrist Ave and Herston Road

A tour of the facilities at QIMR is available – 1.30pm – 2.00pm. RSVP appreciated by Wed. March 1, 2012.

Guest speakers:

• Dr. A. Yazdani – Pain Management and Research
• Elspeth Jeffery – QENDO President – Practical Pain Management
• Dr. Jodie Painter – QIMR – Endometriosis Research Studies

This presentation will be followed by an informal discussion and afternoon tea giving guests a chance to ask questions and meet other people with endometriosis.

Everyone is welcome to attend – endometriosis sufferers, families, teachers, nurses or anyone that want to know more about reproductive health and endometriosis.

Don’t Suffer in Silence! Pain is not normal!

For more information, please phone our message bank (07) 3321 4408 or contact us

When: March 10, 2012 – 1.30pm – 4.00pm
Where: Cunningham Centre Toowoomba Hospital
Pechey Street entrance
Cost: $5.00/person

Guest speakers -
Dr Ahmed Kassab – Gynaecologist
Jodie Painter – QIMR
Brett Kelly – Physiotherapist/Pain Management
Janie Simmons – Practical Pain Management

This presentation will be followed by an informal discussion and afternoon tea giving guests a chance to ask questions and meet other people with endometriosis.

Everyone is welcome to attend – endometriosis sufferers, families, teachers, nurses or anyone that want to know more about reproductive health and endometriosis.

Don’t Suffer in Silence! Pain is not normal!

For more information : Katrina: 0427 959 137 and Elspeth: 0411 445 837 or contact us

When: March 10, 2012 – 1.00pm – 3.00pm
Where: Rockhampton Women’s Health Centre
225 Bolsover st, Rockhampton
Cost: $5.00/person

Fundraiser Raffle: There will also be a chance to buy raffle tickets in our Awareness Week Fundraiser with 1st Prize of 1 night’s accommodation and breakfast for 2 at Capricorn Resort. Tickets $2.00 each or 3 for $5.00

Things that will be discussed -

• What is Endometriosis
• Endo symptoms
• Endo Causes
• Endo diagnosis
• Endo treatment
• What QENDO does
• Living and coping with Endometriosis
• How family members or partners can help
• Other causes for pelvic pain

This presentation will be followed by an informal discussion and afternoon tea giving guests a chance to ask questions and meet other people with endometriosis. This session would be especially helpful to teens and parents as Kimberley dealt with endometriosis herself as a teen.

Everyone is welcome to attend – endometriosis sufferers, families, teachers, nurses or anyone that want to know more about reproductive health and endometriosis

Don’t Suffer in Silence! Pain is not normal!

Please contact Kimberley on 0420 976 482 or via the form below if you are interested in attending.

Congratulations to Margaret Dunks – orange ticket F16.

Thank you to Naaz Kerin for her generous donation.

All funds raised from our fundraisers go towards helping QENDO to continue providing a free support service to sufferers of endometriosis, their family and friends.

QENDO is a non-profit organisation run purely by volunteers, many of whom are endometriosis sufferers themselves.

Thank you to everyone who bought tickets. Your generous support is appreciated.

Ideas for activities could include a Calcutta prior to Melbourne Cup, Hat Day at work, morning tea/lunch/garden party, chicken and champagne luncheon, Ladies Day – races, golf, bowls, etc.

Ideas are only limited by your imagination. Why not add a fundraising activity to your event? Fundraising packs include tickets for our current major fundraiser raffle.

For more information, please call the message bank on (07) 3321 4408 or fill in the form below -

Join us for a night of fun, games and laughter at the annual QENDO trivia night. It’s a great night out, the perfect opportunity to support the association and to meet other members -

• When – Saturday, May 21, 2011
• Showtime – 6.30pm for a 7.00pm start
• Where – Mt Gravatt PCYC HIBISCUS PLACE community hall
• Address – 90 Klumpp Rd, Mt Gravatt. Take Mains Rd exit off freeway going south or access via Logan Road

Entry

• Adults – $15.00 per person
• QENDO members – $12.50
• Kids 12–18 years (under 12 free) – $10.00

Contact us to register your team. Don’t have a team? That’s ok. Register your interest and you can join one of ours!

Help support the association AND have a great night out at the same time!

Susan Sarandon is a well-known actress, a mother, an activist – and a woman with endometriosis.

At the invitation of Padma Lakshmi and Tamer Seckin, co-founders of the Endometriosis Foundation of America (EFA), Ms Sarandon attended EFA’s 3rd Blossom and spoke frankly about her own journey with endometriosis, which started off as a “half-assed diagnosis” which included half-hearted treatments thrown at her without full explanations about the disease.

Her key message was not to take no for an answer!

This, in fact, is the exact same message, which was conveyed by fellow sufferer, the vice president of the European Parliament, Diana Wallis MEP, only two weeks earlier. And these women are right: if you have pain that is preventing you from going about your daily activities, you need to seek help!

Ms Sarandon went on to stress that endometriosis should not turn into something that is going to rob you of such a huge piece of your life; it should not have to affect your quality of life in the way it does for so many women.

“When all you know is pain you don’t know that that is not normal. It is not a woman’s lot to suffer, even if we’ve been raised that way. It is not OK to miss a part of your life because of pain and excessive bleeding. It is not OK to be bed-ridden for two-to-three days a month. It is not OK to have pain during sex. It is not OK to have major bloating or nausea”.

Ms Sarandon drew applause when she emphasised that even if women have been conditioned to accept this as normal (“as their lot in life”) – IT IS NOT OK!

“Suffering should not define you as a woman!”, said Ms Sarandon, “and just because you’re a man it doesn’t mean that it doesn’t affect you! HELP HER to remove the taboos and the loneliness surrounding this disease; be understanding, show empathy, and don’t accuse her of being sensitive, delicate, or overly dramatic – this is a big opportunity for you guys to show that you care and to be a real man!”.

What to do next?

In moving forward it is necessary to TALK about endometriosis and remove the taboos surrounding the disease “woman-to-woman” and “mother-to-daughter” to ensure that when a woman is suffering it is recognised that this may be something bigger than the old myth that “this is just something a woman is destined to have”

Susan Sarandon had a happy ending. She is the mother of three children, and is confident that there can be many happy endings for other women with the disease – because really there is no mystery to it if you listen to your body telling you that something is wrong.

But these happy endings will only happen if we get young women diagnosed and treated earlier and if physicians are educated to recognise the symptoms of the disease and are willing to refer to those who are specialised in treating and managing endometriosis.

Susan Sarandon is right: we need to spread the word!

Courtesy of www.endometriosis.org

This exquisite queen sized quilt is one of a kind and is priceless. It will make a wonderful addition to anyone’s home.

For tickets, please contact the association.

All money raised will help QENDO to continue supporting women suffering from endometriosis. Your support is truly appreciated.

To order your copy of ‘Endometriosis and Pelvic Pain’ by Dr. Susan Evans, simply download an order form and return it to QENDO with your payment details.

About The Book

Even if endometriosis is common, that doesn’t make it simple. It’s hard being a woman with endometriosis.

Illness is much easier to explain when everyone can see the problem (like a broken leg), when it will reliably get better over time (like the ‘flu) or it affects men too (like asthma or diabetes).

You may find it difficult or embarrassing to explain to your friends or workmates that you have a ‘woman’s problem’ that just isn’t getting better.

Your family and friends care for you and want you to be well, but may feel frustrated and powerless to help a pain they don’t understand.

This book is for women just like you. To explain your pain, help you manage your pain and live well. It is also for your family so they can understand. There is so much you can do, both with your doctor and for yourself, to become well again. Some women with endometriosis have period pain but others have pain on most days. The pain may have started as bad period pain, but at some stage things changed. Now there may be sharp or stabbing pains, bladder or bowel troubles, pain with intercourse, bloating, a depressed mood, headaches or pain when you move. These are part of the ‘bigger picture of endometriosis’. The best treatment usually involves a mix of surgery, special medications, diet and lifestyle changes.

But won’t all my pain go a way if I have an operation, or even a hysterectomy?

It is true that for many women, excellent surgery through a telescope (called a laparoscope) can remove all the endometriosis, and make a big difference to their pain. It is an important part of modern endometriosis treatment. However there are many pains you can’t see at a laparoscopy. Surgery won’t help pain from the bladder, pelvic muscles, migraines, sharp pains, or most bowel problems. We can help you with all aspects of your pain.

This book fills in the gaps. It explains about surgery, but also covers those other problems that women with endometriosis suffer. We want you to be as well as possible

Susan Evans
Deborah Bush

About The Authors

Dr. Susan Evans

Dr Evans studied medicine at the University of Tasmania, and completed her specialist training in Adelaide in 1996. Since then she has worked as a laparoscopic surgeon specialising in the management of endometriosis and pelvic pain. The first edition of ‘Endometriosis and pelvic pain’ was published in 2005 and the updated second edition was published in 2009. Dr Evans believes that to truly treat a woman’s pelvic pain requires an individualised approach, which aims to manage as many of her problems as possible. Her practice is the Adelaide branch of Endometriosis Care Centres of Australia.

Deborah Bush QSM

Ms Bush is Chief Executive Officer of Endometriosis New Zealand, an organisation at the forefront of internationally recognised endometriosis services and programmes.

She runs education and counselling clinics throughout New Zealand understanding the impact and burden endometriosis imposes on the individual and families.

In 1997, she personally developed and now manages the menstrual education programme for schools known as ‘me’. www.me.school.nz

Both authors use a multi-disciplinary holistic approach to help women with endometriosis live well, despite their disease. They are actively involved in endometriosis education to audiences ranging from gynaecologists, general practitioners, medical students, the general public and senior students in schools, in Australia/New Zealand and overseas.