NYC Marathon 2022 for Endometriosis (EndoStrong)

I have been battling endometriosis and fibroids for a long time — almost 20 years to be exact. This year, I’ve decided to make it my mission to raise awareness for these debilitating disorders in every way possible. And I’ve pledged to run as part of Team EndoStrong at 2022 TCS New York City Marathon on Nov 6th to raise awareness for endometriosis and to raise at least $3000 for The Endometriosis Foundation of America. For everyone who donates, I’ll give a shout-out on my FB in the weekly #MarathonMonday updates and print your names on a T-shirt that I’ll race in :)

 

 

What is endometriosis?

 

Endometriosis affects 1 in 10 women, and it causes awful pain, heavy periods, bowel and bladder issues, infertility, internal organs fuse together, etc. Yet, in 2020 according to National Institutes of Health (NIH), endometriosis is one of the least funded, ranking at number 276 out of 288, with less than $1 per patient. It takes women an average of 10 years to get a diagnosis, and even longer for proper treatments. There’s currently no cure. 

 

 

What is The Endometriosis Foundation of America?

 

The Endometriosis Foundation of America (EndoFound) is a non-profit organization founded by Padma Lakshmi that strives to increase disease recognition, provide advocacy, facilitate expert surgical training, and fund landmark endometriosis research. They have done a lot of work to advocate for more governmental support in order to increase endometriosis funding in the US. You can read more on their website here.

 

 

My story

 

For those who don't know me, my name is Michelle. I was born and raised in Hong Kong, and moved to the States with my family during teenage years. I studied Computer Science at Boston College, and then came to New York to work as a software engineer at Goldman Sachs.  After spending time at R/GA working on Nike+ and getting diagnosed with thyroid cancer, I decided to change my career to doing something I love more, which is design. I've since worked as a designer for big brands such as The New York Times, non-profits, and startups. I'm now building my own startup called Neuemoon Health hoping to help teenage girls and women who suffer from debilitating gynecological disorders.

 

I've had awful periods since my college days, experiencing tremendous amount of pain that would lead me taking max dose of ibuprofen a day just to function, and losing so much blood that causes chronic anemia. My periods would always make me miss work few days a month and prevent me from social gatherings.

 

It is very hard to find doctors who are knowledgable about endometriosis. For me, I had known about mine since in my 20s, with ultrasounds showing endometriomas, but doctors would only prescribe birth control pills and said nothing can be done. Fast forward 15 years later, my symptoms have progressed so much worse that my daily life is affected. Some days are better than others, but it has stopped me from running and exercising because of the pain on my left pelvic area, lower back pain, sciatica pain that goes down my left leg, extreme fatigue, etc. These symptoms are still persisting after my open myomectomy surgery last year to remove 19 out of 30 fibroids. In March, the doctors finally saw on the MRI that I actually have the most advanced type of endometriosis — deeply infiltrative endometriosis (DIE).

 

I've just undergone robotic surgery for endometriosis in the middle of June, where they did 5 incisions 8mm each and found extensive adhesions left and right ovary stuck with the uterus, uterus stuck to the abdominal wall, with the bowel, etc. The recovery will be a few weeks. After recovery, I'll continue to train for the marathon. I guess this is a challenge for me both physically and mentally — to prove to myself that this disease won't stop me.

 

In this campaign, every penny you donate will go to EndoFound for endometriosis awareness and research. Please support in any way you can — donate, learn more about the disease, pay attention to your loved ones to make sure they don't have undiagnosed gynecological disorders, and make them feel supported if they do have them, or if you yourself have endometriosis, make sure to take good care of yourself.

 

Thank you!

FYI, I've also set up a Bonfire shop where all the proceeds from the t-shirt designs will go towards this fundraising:
https://www.bonfire.com/store/himichelleng/

 

Best,

Michelle