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Invisible Pain: A Decade of Suffering, Finally Heard
2 Dec, 2025
Summary
- Women disproportionately suffer from underdiagnosed chronic pain conditions.
- Endometriosis diagnosis took over a decade for one patient.
- Chronic pain costs Canada more than cancer, diabetes, and heart disease combined.
Invisible illnesses, including chronic pain and fatigue conditions, disproportionately affect women, often leading to underdiagnosis and disbelief from medical professionals. Shae-Lynn Bakaluk's decade-long struggle with severe endometriosis pain exemplifies the challenges faced, with her concerns dismissed for years before a diagnosis. This delay underscores a systemic weakness in understanding and validating chronic pain, particularly for women.
The societal and personal toll of such conditions is immense, often intertwining with mental health issues like anxiety and depression. Amanda Gibson's experience with suspected fibromyalgia highlights similar dismissal, with initial advice focusing on mental health rather than physical symptoms. The Canadian Pain Task Force's 2021 report aimed to address these systemic failures, recommending actions to improve pain recognition and management within the healthcare system.
Despite chronic pain's significant economic burden on Canada, exceeding that of major diseases like cancer and heart disease, awareness and effective management remain insufficient. Efforts are underway to integrate more comprehensive pain curriculum into medical schools and professional development, aiming to equip healthcare providers with better tools to assess and treat chronic pain, ensuring patients are finally believed and supported.
