Your body has never lied to you — but the system has.
In this raw and deeply moving episode, Candice McKenzie, founder of Endo Warriors West Lothian, opens up about more than 30 years of fighting to be believed, referred, and seen within a healthcare system that consistently failed her.
Her story begins at age nine — dismissed as growing pains, chronic constipation, and "just a bad period" — before finally receiving a diagnosis of endometriosis at 21, only after collapsing in her garden, grey and doubled over, while a neighbour recognised what her doctors had not.
Since that diagnosis in 1999, Candice has had 16 surgeries and a pelvic clearance, and has spent nearly nine years on Letrozole — a drug prescribed to advanced breast cancer patients — because endometriosis continues to make its own estrogen even after her reproductive organs were removed. The episode goes deep into what that has done to her body, her femininity, her teeth, her hair, her heart health, and her sense of self.
From the miracle of carrying two children through near-impossible pregnancies, to the invisible poker face that chronic pain forces women to wear in public, to what it truly means to no longer feel at home in your own body — Candice holds nothing back. And she is clear: "endo warrior" is a title none of them asked for.
But this episode is also about action. Candice breaks down why Scotland's average diagnosis time sits at 10 years and two months, how she has been lobbying the Scottish Government through MSPs, and why she believes the UK figure of one in ten women affected is a serious undercount. The conversation covers Jess's Law in England, the urgent need for a holistic approach to pain management including access to medical cannabis, and the 1,400-strong global community she has helped build.
Endometriosis affects an estimated 190 to 200 million women worldwide. This episode is for every single one of them — and for everyone who loves them.
Find Endo Warriors West Lothian on Instagram at @endowarriorswl, @endowl, or search Endo Warriors West Lothian.
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