How can we better understand endometriosis?

What's Up Docs?

BBC

Health & Fitness, Nature, Science

4.4 • 659 Ratings

🗓️ 24 February 2026

⏱️ 30 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Welcome to What’s Up Docs?, the podcast where doctors and identical twins Chris and Xand van Tulleken cut through the confusion around every aspect of our health and wellbeing.

In this episode, Chris and Xand dive into endometriosis, a condition that occurs when cells similar to the ones in the lining of the womb (uterus) grow in other areas of the body. It affects around one in ten women of reproductive age, often causing severe pain, mental health issues and in some cases, it can result in infertility. In this episode, the doctors discuss the symptoms of endometriosis, the theories about its biological mechanisms and underlying cause, and why the condition is under-researched and under-funded, resulting in patients waiting on average 7.5 years to be diagnosed.

Joining them to discuss this is Dr Chi Eziefula, Associate Professor in Global Health and Infection at Brighton and Sussex Medical School and an Honorary Consultant physician.

If you want to get in touch, you can email us at whatsupdocs@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp us on 08000 665 123.

Presenters: Drs Chris and Xand van Tulleken Guest: Dr Chi Eziefula Producer: Maia Miller-Lewis and Faye Lyons-White Executive Producer: Rami Tzabar Editor: Jo Rowntree Researcher: Mili Ostojic Tech Lead: Reuben Huxtable Visual Producer: Leon Gower Digital Lead: Richard Berry Composer: Phoebe McFarlane Sound Design: Melvin Rickarby

At the BBC: Assistant Commissioner: Greg Smith Commissioning Editor: Rhian Roberts A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4

Transcript

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0:00.0	BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, Podcasts.
0:07.0	I'm no longer ravenous. I'll no longer eat until I fall asleep.
0:11.0	The Hunger Game, a new five-part series exploring the meteoric rise of weight loss drugs.
0:16.0	It's been an incredible story with these drugs.
0:18.1	The uptake, the amount of product that's been sold, the amount of money
0:21.2	is cost. What the drugs do, how they work, and the knock-on effects of their widespread use.
0:26.5	We'll be sitting here in three years' time going, oh, it caused problems that we're now going
0:31.3	to have to fix. The Hunger Game with me, Professor Gilesio. Listen first on BBC Sounds.
0:39.6	Hello and welcome to Radio 4's Health and Wellbeing podcast with me, Dr. Chris.
0:43.9	And me, Dr. Zandt.
0:45.0	And today, Chris, we are looking at a topic that is poorly understood, overlooked,
0:50.3	but has a massive impact on the lives of a huge number of people in the UK and around the world.
0:56.1	That's right, Sond.
0:56.7	We're looking at endometriosis.
0:58.5	It's a gynecological condition that affects one in ten women of reproductive age in the UK.
1:05.6	It's a topic that many what's up doc listeners have written to us about.
1:09.0	In this episode, obviously we want to get a grasp of what endometriosis is, the symptoms, the barriers to diagnosis. And I want to say
1:15.8	right at the top, this is an issue that absolutely everyone should care about. It tells a story
1:22.7	about the way we fund science and the way that medicine excludes certain people and neglect certain topics that
1:28.7	is colossally important. Chris, before we get into the main episode, how are you doing? What have you
1:34.1	got for me? I'm doing all right. We saw each other at the weekend and we saw our mum also and I'd lost
1:39.1	my phone in the house. So I got mum, I got mum to phone me. You know, you can't find your phone.
	...

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