{"paper_id":"e9897519-ec48-4cd5-b987-e70bf2c6e761","body_text":"Loading...\nTHE IMPACT OF ENDOMETRIOSIS: EVALUATING FUTURE CANCER RISK AND UNDERSTANDING THE ROLE OF RACE AND ETHNICITY IN THE DIAGNOSTIC JOURNEY\nCitations\nAbstract\nEndometriosis is estimated to affect 10% of reproductive-age women: approximately 6.5 million women in the United States, and 190 million women worldwide. Endometriosis is a painful and chronic inflammatory disease characterized by the growth of endometrial-like tissue outside of the uterus. Endometriosis is a difficult disease to diagnose due to nonspecific symptoms, lack of awareness, and symptom normalization. This results in long diagnostic delays; the time from the start of symptoms to diagnosis is estimated to be on average 7 years.\nIndividuals with endometriosis are more likely to have coexisting chronic conditions, including cancer; however, the exact mechanisms remain unclear. Furthermore, the association between endometriosis and both melanoma and colorectal cancer remains unclear due to previous studies with significant bias. To better understand the sequelae of endometriosis, we prospectively investigated the relationship between endometriosis and cutaneous melanoma, and colorectal cancer, in Chapters 1 and 2,respectively. We examined these associations in the Sister Study, a prospective cohort of 49,255 women aged 35 to 76 years old in the United States.\nTo date, the majority of endometriosis research is conducted among Caucasian women, lacking critical information on race and ethnicity. As a result, little is known about the experiences of endometriosis diagnosis among Black, Asian, and Hispanic women. For Chapter 3, we conducted a qualitative study to understand the role of race and ethnicity in the patient's journey to endometriosis diagnosis among 25 Black women.\nType\nDissertation (5 Years Campus Access Only)\nDate\n2026-02\nPublisher\nDegree\nLicense\nAttribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States\nLicense\nhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/\nResearch Projects\nOrganizational Units\nJournal Issue\nEmbargo Lift Date\n2027-02-01","source_license":"CC0","license_restricted":false}