Model paid £2,500 to be diagnosed with a common womb condition after ‘horrible’ doctors repeatedly denied there was a problem despite her being in agony
- Kate Leyenda, who has worked for Wella and Shwartzkopf, has endometriosis
- She said NHS medics turned her away dozens of times, forcing her to go private
- Miss Leyenda will now need treatment for the rest of her life for the condition
A model claims she had to pay £2,500 to be diagnosed with endometriosis after NHS doctors repeatedly told her nothing was wrong.
Kate Leyenda, 27, alleges doctors in her home city of Hull dismissed the pain and were ‘horrible’ to her – despite debilitating pain in her pelvis and legs.
Claiming to have visited doctors and phoned NHS helpline 111 between 40 and 50 times in the summer of 2017, the former Miss England finalist gave in and sought private help.
She paid £2,500 for a laparoscopy – a procedure to examine the inside of the abdomen – and was told it was endometriosis which had left her unable to work.
The common condition causes the womb lining to grow outside of the womb, such as in the ovaries or fallopian tubes, and can cause pain, constipation or diarrhoea.
Miss Leyenda’s condition was so advanced she had to have six months of hormone therapy before having an operation to remove the womb tissue.
The model, who has worked for haircare brands Wella and Schwartzkopf, will now need regular medical treatment for the rest of her life.
Kate Leyenda, a hair model who has worked for Wella and Schwartzkopf, paid £2,500 for a procedure to diagnose her with endometriosis because she could not get NHS help
Miss Leyenda suffered crippling pain around her pelvis between June and September last year, but struggled to find a doctor to help.
She claims, despite dozens of attempts to get help from the NHS, she was repeatedly told there was ‘not an issue’.
It took paying to go privately to be diagnosed, with specialists at The Spire in Anlaby, a village near Hull, discovering she had endometriosis in October 17, 2017.
The diagnosis brought to an end to a summer of anguish in which the self-employed model could not work because of the pain.
She has now accused A&E doctors at Hull Royal Infirmary of being ‘horrible’ to her, telling her they could find nothing wrong and to stop returning.
‘I found the treatment at Hull Royal Infirmary horrible, and the GP wasn’t great either,’ said Miss Leyenda.
‘The doctors at A&E kept saying, “there is not an issue, why do you keeping coming back?” I didn’t know what to do.’
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Endometriosis is thought to affect as many as one in 10 women in the UK.
It can cause chronic pain, a lack of energy, make it harder to conceive or painful to have sex, and even cause disability in the worst cases.
Miss Leyenda says she has been diagnosed with stage four endometriosis – the most severe form of the condition – and will need treatment for the rest of her life.
Endometriosis cannot be cured and long-term management of the condition usually involves hormone treatment or surgery, as well as painkillers.
Hormone treatment can reduce levels of oestrogen in the body, because endometriosis is worsened by the hormone, and surgery is used to remove excess womb tissue which grows in places like the fallopian tubes or ovaries.
The pain meant the short hair model had to turn down work for four months last summer, having previously starred in Wella and Schwarzkopf adverts.
She had to rely on parents for financial support while she was out of work.
The Spire referred her back to the NHS for follow-up treatment from endometriosis specialists at Castle Hill Hospital in East Riding of Yorkshire, one of 44 specialist units in the country.
Miss Leyenda’s condition was so severe that she had to take six months of hormone injections to bring on the symptoms of menopause early before she could be operated on in April this year.
Despite the operation taking place less than six months ago, Miss Leyenda said she is already experiencing reoccurring pain.
‘I had to have four months off work because I was literally going to A&E every day, she said. ‘I pretty much had 111 on speed dial at one stage.’
Miss Leyenda said her treatment at Hull Royal Infirmary was ‘horrible’ and the NHS did not help her with her condition for months, leading even her parents to doubt her
‘The doctors were doubtful and saying I was lying, basically. I had to pay to get the operation to get diagnosed.
‘The NHS said they didn’t think I had [endometriosis] so they wouldn’t pay. They were saying it could be stress or anxiety.
‘If I hadn’t paid for it and gone privately I might never have been diagnosed.
‘The pain is already back so I will probably have to go for more treatment. It can feel like you are fighting a lost cause.’
WHAT IS ENDOMETRIOSIS?
Endometriosis occurs when cells in the lining of the womb are found elsewhere in the body.
Each month, these cells react in the same way as those in the womb; building up, breaking down and bleeding. Yet, the blood has no way to escape the body.
Symptoms include pain, heavy periods and fatigue, as well as a higher risk of infertility, and bowel and bladder problems.
Its cause is unknown but may be genetic, related to problems with the immune system or exposure to chemicals.
Treatment focuses on pain relief and improving quality of life, which may include surgery or hormone treatment.
Source: Endometriosis UK
The Miss England 2009 finalist is now looking to raise awareness of the condition, both in Hull and across the UK with the help of her MP, Emma Hardy.
Hull has a specialist nurse based at Castle Hill Hospital but Miss Leyenda, while praising the ‘fantastic’ care given to her after diagnosis, said getting in contact could be difficult because the demand is high for the services of one nurse.
Miss Leyenda said: ‘I can’t believe it took so long [to get diagnosed].
‘For me it didn’t take as long as for some people, so I’m lucky, but how can doctors say nothing is wrong with you when there is?
‘I had support from my mum and dad while I was off work but even they were questioning it because the doctors were saying nothing was wrong with me.
‘I want to make sure this doesn’t happen again.’
Labour’s MP for Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle, Ms Hardy, said Miss Leyenda’s story ‘chimed’ with her after campaigning against the use of vaginal mesh, an implant that left some women in constant pain and even disabled.
‘It feels like women have to battle when it comes to their health,’ said Ms Hardy.
‘Like with mesh, there hasn’t been enough research into endometriosis.
‘There are only 44 specialist centres in the UK and there is only one specialist nurse in the Humber.
‘If you think that one in 10 women have some form of endometriosis, then this is a huge problem affecting so many women.
‘This is a chronic condition to live with. There should be help available to support people who live with it.’
Miss Leyenda is now teaming up with her MP for Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle, Emma Hardy, to raise awareness of the common but debilitating condition
The city MP said she would be seeking a meeting with education secretary Damian Hinds to urge him to include menstrual health as part of the curriculum in primary schools, so prepubescent girls can be taught about ‘what a normal period is’
Miss Leyenda and her MP have arranged a ‘Pink Pants’ event at Bean and Nothingness café in Whitefriargate on Monday, October 1, from 10am to 11.30am.
The pair want to use it as a chance for women to learn more about endometriosis, its symptoms and ‘ending the shame’ of talking about women’s health issues.
The Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs Hull Royal Infirmary and Castle Hill hospitals, said it was ‘unable to comment on individual cases because of strict rules governing patient confidentiality’.
But consultant gynaecologist Kevin Phillips, an endometriosis specialist at the hospital trust, accepted women often faced delays of between five to seven years before diagnosis.
Mr Phillips said: ‘Endometriosis can be a complex, debilitating condition which is not easy to treat. This is recognised nationally and internationally.
‘Specialists are trying hard, with the help of charities, to get all medical professionals to recognise the possibility of this diagnosis at the earliest possible stage.
‘Once a woman is referred to a gynaecologist, the diagnostic time is actually quite short but getting referred to a specialist in the first place can be difficult because of the complexity of the condition.’
As a specialist endometriosis centre, Castle Hill Hospital treats women from all over Yorkshire and Lincolnshire.
To maintain its status as a specialist centre, the trust employs a dedicated endometriosis specialist nurse and has dedicated surgeons to carry out the ‘complex’ procedures.
Mr Phillips said: ‘Once women are diagnosed with endometriosis, we can offer them the best treatment possible because we know this is a condition which impacts very severely on a woman’s life.’
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