Endometriosis film, panel draws crowd at Longmont Museum – Boulder D…

In honor of both Women’s History Month and Endometriosis Awareness Month, the Longmont Museum hosted a film screening and panel discussion Wednesday night to shine a light on an often overlooked area of women’s health.

Stewart Auditorium at the museum, 400 Quail Road, was nearly packed for the event, which doubled as a fundraiser for the charity Endo Collective. The nonprofit will send screening kits to Longmont-area schools to help nurses check for endometriosis, which often manifests painfully as the growth of tissue outside the uterus.

Guests gathered for a screening of “Below the Belt,” a documentary that follows multiple women’s experiences with endometriosis and the work they’ve done to raise awareness for it. Event coordinator and physical therapist Michele Forsberg introduced the film by emphasizing her own desire to get the word out about the disease.

“The theme for this year’s International Women’s Day is ‘embracing equity,’ which is what we’re doing …because there’s a lot of inequity with women’s health,” she said.

Forsberg also joined the panel that followed the film, which consisted of six local health care professionals, including UCHealth gynecologic surgeon Brian Nelson. Nelson, who said he’s one of about 40 doctors in the country who specialize in endometriosis excision surgery, explained that 80% of his practice is endometriosis care.

“We’ll make the diagnosis, and the patient cries because they’re finally validated,” he said.

Panelists shared their takeaways from “Below the Belt,” which ranged from enjoying seeing change get made at the federal level to being moved by the love shown by the victims’ family members. Panelists also talked about how they use alternative methods, such as nutrition and homeopathy, to try to alleviate discomfort caused by endometriosis.

“If someone can be in less pain as they’re waiting to see an expert, then that’s helpful,” said Boulder-based functional medicine dietitian Margo Gasta.

After the panel, some audience members shared their own experiences with the disease and asked Nelson, “Where do we go from here?” As Nelson explained, that answer can only be found through more research.

“We don’t have a way to turn (endometriosis) off,” he said. “I can cut it out, but it can come back. We need research to somehow figure out how to turn this off.”

Jef Forsberg, who moderated the panel, said that ticket sales for the event allowed organizers to “break even” on their contribution to Endo Collective, which was the goal.

“I think we should all be very grateful that here in Longmont and Boulder County we have these resources,” he said.