doctors.
“Hopefully, we’re starting to move away from that, because we’re starting to do more patient-centered care, and because there’s a lot more advocacy going on to just treat every human being like a human being when they walk in your office. That has been, unfortunately, quite a bit of a barrier for a lot of women,” Hawkins said in talks with The American Journal of Managed Care.
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Knowing When a Treatment Is Successful
As an advocate for women’s health, Hawkins deeply respects her patients and their concerns. Even more so, she’s willing to go the distance to make sure they receive the proper care and treatment they need.
When The American Journal of Managed Care asked what’s her definition of a successful treatment, Hawkins stated that reaching her patient’s long-term goals is a huge win for her. “Do they want to have more children? Do they wish to have more pain-free days?”
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Furthermore, Hawkins knows that in order to reach those goals, we have to first address the recurrence of the disease. Research states that the recurrence rate is 45%. That’s even after a surgical procedure takes place. Hawkins believes that the percentage derives from the fact that endometriosis is a chronic disease. “It’s not a one-and-done deal,” the surgeon tells the publication.
Furthermore, the surgeon believes that treatment should go beyond whether or not a patient feels better.
Instead, healthcare providers should be concerned about the long-term effects and how it impacts their life several years from now.
“Coming up with the goal is for the rest of their life to get them to the other side of what they may have been suffering for sometimes over a decade with,” Hawkins told AJMC.
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In the end, the Georgia-based gynecologist wants women everywhere to know they don’t have to suffer in pain. As an endometriosis sufferer herself, Hawkins knows first-hand that there’s light at the end of the tunnel.
