Dr. Tran Thi Lan Huong, Medical Director of the Pharmaceuticals Division, Bayer Vietnam, shared: “Bayer aims to deliver a better life by advancing innovative treatments and solutions. To achieve this goal, we have carried out numerous programs that address the individual health needs of women. Over the course of their lives, women have to deal with very different intimate health issues, from menstruation to pregnancy, and menopause to Endometriosis or Myomas. That’s precisely why Bayer Vietnam was privileged  to collaborate with VAGO and NHOG to organize this seminar to share information while providing support and showing empathy to patients. We hope it will increase awareness of the disease and the treatment options available, while also giving patients an opportunity to connect and create a mutually supportive community.”

Bayer strives to increase awareness of Endometriosis - a chronic disease with serious implications 

Endometriosis is a recurring and persistent disease in women. It is characterized by the presence and growth of endometrial tissue outside the uterus which undergoes menstrual-cycle-driven proliferation and breakdown. The blood produced is trapped at the site of lesion and can trigger local inflammatory reactions. 
 

Endometriosis is a recurring and persistent disease in women. It is characterized by the presence and growth of endometrial tissue outside the uterus which undergoes menstrual-cycle-driven proliferation and breakdown. The blood produced is trapped at the site of lesion and can trigger local inflammatory reactions. 

Dr. Vu Ba Quyet, the Vice President of the Vietnam Association of Gynecology and Obstetrics (VAGO) shared: “It is estimated that 20 - 30% of Vietnamese women who have endometriosis. Endometriosis causes pain with different types and causes infertility. The recurring, intense pain and the risk of infertility puts immense physical and mental strain on patients. However, the symptoms can be alleviated by early diagnosis and a regimen of long-term adjuvant medication.”

Symptoms of Endometriosis can vary and can include dysmenorrhea, non-cyclic pelvic pain, dyspareunia, dysuria, dyschesia, fatigue and subfertility. There is no cure for Endometriosis and treatment of the disease aims to relieve pain, slow the growth of Endometriosis, improve fertility (where desired), and/or to prevent the disease from recurring after successful treatment.

During the seminar, Dr. Vu Ba Quyet discussed the merits of medicine and surgery in treating Endometriosis: “Internal medicine is the optimum solution. Only when this route fails should surgery be performed due to the serious risk of further complications, in the case of ovarian endometriosis, of infertility.”
“Patients also need to be aware that surgery or medical therapy is not a cure,” he added. “The disease will return - slowly or swiftly, depending on each case - and women must mentally prepare themselves and continue seeking medical consultation. While using drugs prescribed by doctors if it has adverse events, patients should be calm to contact doctors. Patients should not stop treatment by themselves or switch to different therapies.”

From a patient’s point of view, Ms. Lydia Leshared: “The fact that doctors and patients are unaware of Endometriosis bringing the negative psychological effect at the patient. In addition to the pain brought by the disease, which directly affects life and work, the pain also indirectly affects the psychology of the patient. We need to look at Endometriosis in multiple aspects. To improve treatment outcomes, the healthcare professionals need to pay attention on patients’ psychological aspects, patients need to actively increase knowledge of disease, discuss with doctors.”

Ms. Tran Thu Huong, the administrator of a Facebook community of 4,000 Endometriosis patients, shared: “I've been living with endometriosis for over 15 years and have gone through many of the hardships affecting patients. When I learnt that I am not alone - one out of every ten women suffer from Endometriosis, that’s 200 million women in the world - I created a Facebook group where we can share and support each other. There is little reliable information about this disease, even though better understanding can help patients deal with its daily implications. The Endometriosis patients also hope that doctors and the health system will pay more attention to women with endometriosis as this is a chronic pathology and women are heavily affected by this disease in terms of physical and mental problems and the burden of the cost of treatment. A lot of women with Endometriosis have suffered depression from the pain of the disease, which makes their youth life extremely difficult.”

Bayer spearheads efforts to tackle Endometriosis with #DontLiveWithPain campaign in Asia

In the lead up to Endometriosis Awareness Month in Asia, Bayer, together with clinical experts from across the region, has unveiled a new consensus guideline: “Clinical Diagnosis and Early Medical Management for Endometriosis: Consensus for Asia”. The first-of-its-kind consensus aims to help healthcare professionals navigate clinical diagnosis for the treatment of Endometriosis.

The consensus aligns with the latest 2022 guidelines published by the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE), which details the best practices of caring for women with endometriosis. Both works emphasize the importance of non-invasive procedures in early diagnosis and treatment to allow for patient-centered care. For instance, symptom recognition is recommended before utilizing laparoscopy for diagnosis, and medical treatments are recommended for the management of pain post-surgery.

“With up to 10% of women of reproductive age worldwide affected by Endometriosis, it continues to pose a serious burden globally and in our region. As such, we’re excited to see the outcomes of the Asia Consensus guidelines which allow us to help healthcare professionals tackle the Endometriosis burden by improving diagnosis and treatment standards of the condition in Asia, enabling them to create the best outcomes for their patients,” said Catherine Donovan, Vice President of Medical Affairs Asia-Pacific, Bayer Pharmaceuticals Asia-Pacific. 

Ms. Surita Morgan, president of the Malaysian Association of Endocrinology Patients, shared: “Vietnamese and Malaysian patients suffer physically and emotionally from a young age, alone and without support from the people around them. This has to stop! As an Endometriosis patient, I would like to encourage Vietnamese Endometriosis patients to speak up and together build a community of Vietnamese Endometriosis patients to support each other and overcome this disease. Let's join hands and end the silence on Endometriosis.”

Bayer aims to address the information gap persisting with this condition to help women detect irregularities and encourage them to seek early treatment. With this goal, Bayer has spearheaded the #DontLiveWithPain campaign to encourage women to seek intervention and treatment early, instead of suffering the debilitating pain in silence, believing that it is normal.

EndoMarch was first launched in the USA and was extended into a global campaign in 2014. The overall goal of the month is to raise public awareness of the disease.
#DontLiveWithPain was launched in Asia to raise awareness, educate, and assist modern-day women in understanding and managing Endometriosis. In Vietnam, Bayer has supported these efforts through the Endometriosis seminar held jointly with VAGO and NHOG, demonstrating its unwavering commitment to raising community awareness about this dangerous disease and to improving the health of Vietnamese women.
 

About women’s healthcare at Bayer 

Bayer is a recognized leader in the area of women’s healthcare, with a long-standing commitment to delivering science for a better life by advancing a portfolio of innovative treatments. Bayer offers a wide range of effective short- and long-acting birth control methods as well as therapies for menopause management and gynecological diseases.

Bayer also focuses on innovation to address the unmet medical needs of women worldwide. Today, Bayer’s research and development efforts focus on finding new treatment options for menopause as well as gynecological diseases and include several compounds in various stages of pre-clinical and clinical development. Together, these projects reflect the company’s approach to research, which prioritizes targets and pathways with the potential to alter the way that gynecological diseases are treated.

Additionally, Bayer intends to provide 100 million women in low-and-middle income countries with access to family planning by 2030 through funding multi-stakeholder aid programs and ensuring the supply of affordable modern contraceptives. This is part of the company’s comprehensive sustainability measures and commitments from 2020 onwards and in line with the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations.

About Bayer

Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the life science fields of health care and nutrition. Its products and services are designed to help people and planet thrive by supporting efforts to master the major challenges presented by a growing and aging global population. Bayer is committed to drive sustainable development and generate a positive impact with its businesses. At the same time, the Group aims to increase its earning power and create value through innovation and growth. The Bayer brand stands for trust, reliability and quality throughout the world. In fiscal 2020, the Group employed around 100,000 people and had sales of 41.4 billion euros. R&D expenses before special items amounted to 4.9 billion euros. 

For more information, go to www.bayer.com.

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