Artactionday - Tumblr Posts

Endometriosis is a chronic, complex condition in which the layer of tissue that normally covers the inside of the womb (endometrium) grows outside of it. This tissue flakes off and bleeds every month: when it does so inside the womb, it is fine; when it does so outside the womb, the bleeding stagnates inside the body, irritating and scarring the surrounding tissues and organs.

Millions of women in the world suffer from endometriosis. Most of them have no symptoms at first, but they start to notice that something’s wrong when they have strange abdominal pain, when they are infertile, and when they have miscarriages.

The causes of endometriosis are still not entirely clear, so there is no definitive cure. Being it a relatively new disease, its recognition by health authorities is still walking baby steps.

I have severe endometriosis. The drawing represents my belly, an eerie artwork of scars resulting from three surgeries. I will have to deal with this condition forever, and a possible pregnancy would be risky. Now I am fine, but being fine is expensive: every day, at the same time, I take a latest generation medicine that costs me a lot of money. This medicine is one of a kind, it has no affordable generics, it is sold only through a non-repeat prescription, and above all it is not covered by the National Healthcare System of my Country.

This leads me to think of all the people in the world who suffer from chronic diseases and have to pay shocking sums to get the cures they rightfully need. Those who can’t afford such expensive treatments go through a living hell every day, and nobody seems to give a damn.

Healthcare should be a right for everybody, a mission, a safe haven, not a bunch of bureaucracy and money in the hands of pharmaceutical corporations, who get obscenely rich behind people’s suffering.

I won’t go as far as hoping that in 2018 every problem will be magically solved, but with this little piece of artwork I’m sharing today I hope that all the women who suffer from endometriosis, and all the people who have chronic illness, will talk to each other, come together and claim the right to be decently taken care of without the goddamn problem of a cure being expensive or affordable. It’s life we’re talking about, not luxury goodies! Ill people fight a battle every day, and healthcare systems are supposed to help them without charging them with the extra weight of expensive cures: if someone cannot pay, they should be cured for free. You understand, big shots of Pharma Corps? For free! Because being healthy is our most important right, and cures must be provided for everybody.