English: I'd like to thank Jenny Rathbone for suggesting that we should hold this debate, because this is an incredibly important issue that does affect so many people. One of the points that Jenny made at the very beginning is that this is not simply a woman's issue, but actually it is very much something that affects the men who are in the lives of the women who have this chronic and debilitating illness. I just thought I'd very quickly read out the definition for endometriosis, because not everyone's completely clear what it is or what it does to people. It is a condition where tissue that is similar to the lining of the womb starts to grow in other places, such as in your ovaries or your fallopian tubes, and it can affect women of any age. Now, the constituents and friends of mine who I know who have got and had this awful condition report the most excruciating pain throughout their lives. They often have to go and have multiple operations to try to get rid of this excess tissue that's growing everywhere. And it doesn't just grow; it actually knits together and fuses with other parts of your organs - so organs fuse together, particularly your bowel to your stomach, your ovaries. And it can have an extraordinary effect on your life going forward. I'm just going to read an excerpt from one of my constituents, before I actually talk about a particular piece I want to cover. This young lady had an urgent laparoscopy; she had to lose an ovary, part of her bladder and part of her bowel. She has chronic pain in her pelvis and throughout the whole of her body. She has daily migraines. Getting out of bed is an achievement. She has to take painkillers every four hours. And she says, when her periods come around each month, it is a living hell, that endo is a disabling disease that's ruined her life, and, from what she's read online, it's ruined many other lives, and that her hopes and her aspirations have been ruined by this illness. And she goes on to talk about the effect it's had on her relationships. It's ruining her chances of being able to have a family. And so one of the points I thought that Jenny made that was so absolutely crystal clear is that we need to look at this in the round, because this does affect more than just the individual who has it. People with endometriosis very often get post-traumatic stress disorder, and can often suffer from sepsis, which, as we all know, is an absolute killer. Not only does it ruin people's chances of being able to have children, but, of course, it makes things like IVF even more difficult to have success with, because those tubes are blocked, they are pretty much ruined. And IVF is a dodgy business anyway - you don't have guaranteed success - and so people with endometriosis really do have the cards stacked against them. I touched earlier on multiple surgeries, and let's really think about that. You're having to go in maybe once a year, maybe a couple of times a year, to basically have parts of your insides cut away in order for you to be able to stand up straight, to sit down without pain, to be able to wee, to be able to poo, to be able to have a period without being in excruciating agony. Wow - that's a future that must strike most people as a fairly grim one going forward. And, of course, then we come to sex. Sex and intimacy - what we all crave for in good, healthy relationships. That becomes very, very difficult to have, and it affects the men in the relationship as well, because they don't want to think that they might be hurting the person they love. They don't know how to approach them, when is a good time, because of this awful, awful pain. And from what the women who've talked to me about this have said, just taking a couple of paracetamol doesn't cut it. So, I've taken part in this debate because what I'm asking for is for there to be more of a drive to help to find some kind of really sustainable pain relief, and, above all, a way of being to cut the incredibly long waiting list to be able to be diagnosed. Jenny said - and she's absolutely right - too many people are written off as having fatigue: 'Yes, you're having a bit of a heavy bleed this month; don't worry dear, you'll be all right.' These women are not all right, and they actually need to have sympathetic doctors who really understand that this is a major issue that has long-term effects and can in fact lead to people having to lose all or part of their bowel function as well. So, it leads to irritable bowel; it leads to all sorts of other issues that are related to the soft organs in the lower part of our abdomens. So, Minister, if I was going to ask for a couple of take aways from this debate, it would be to have a long, hard look at how we can actually have shorter waiting lists throughout Wales, and that there might be more guidance given to specialists and to GPs that this is a real issue, that it affects not just the person who has it, but the families around them, and that it should be treated with the respect that we accord many other conditions. We just feel that endometriosis is 'just one of those women's things', and has been left slightly to one side. Thank you for your time.
Welsh: Hoffwn ddiolch i Jenny Rathbone am awgrymu y dylem gynnal y ddadl hon, oherwydd mae hwn yn fater eithriadol o bwysig sy'n effeithio ar gynifer o bobl. Un o'r pwyntiau a wnaeth Jenny ar y dechrau un yw nad mater menywod yn unig yw hwn, ond mewn gwirionedd mae'n rhywbeth sy'n effeithio'n fawr ar y dynion ym mywydau'r menywod sydd â'r salwch cronig a gwanychol hwn. Roeddwn am ddarllen y diffiniad o endometriosis yn gyflym iawn, oherwydd nid yw pawb yn gwbl glir beth ydyw na beth y mae'n ei wneud i bobl. Mae'n gyflwr lle mae meinwe sy'n debyg i leinin y groth yn dechrau tyfu mewn mannau eraill, megis yn eich ofarïau neu eich tiwbiau ffalopaidd, a gall effeithio ar fenywod o unrhyw oed. Nawr, mae etholwyr a chyfeillion i mi y gwn eu bod yn dioddef, ac wedi dioddef o'r cyflwr ofnadwy hwn yn sôn am boen eithafol o erchyll drwy gydol eu bywydau. Yn aml, mae'n rhaid iddynt gael llawdriniaethau lluosog i geisio cael gwared ar y feinwe ormodol hon sy'n tyfu ym mhobman. Ac nid dim ond tyfu y mae; mae'n clymu yn ei gilydd ac yn glynu wrth rannau eraill o'ch organau - felly mae organau'n glynu yn ei gilydd, yn enwedig eich coluddyn â'ch stumog, eich ofarïau. A gall effeithio'n enbyd ar eich bywyd. Rwy'n mynd i ddarllen dyfyniad gan un o fy etholwyr, cyn i mi siarad am un peth rwyf am roi sylw iddo. Cafodd un fenyw ifanc laparosgopi brys; bu'n rhaid iddi golli ofari, rhan o'r bledren a rhan o'i choluddyn. Mae ganddi boen cronig yn ei phelfis a thrwy ei chorff i gyd. Mae'n cael meigryn yn ddyddiol. Mae codi o'i gwely'n gyflawniad. Rhaid iddi gymryd poenladdwyr bob pedair awr. Ac mae'n dweud, pan ddaw ei mislif bob mis, mae'n uffern, fod endo yn gyflwr sy'n anablu ac mae wedi difetha ei bywyd, ac o'r hyn y mae wedi'i ddarllen ar-lein, mae wedi difetha llawer o fywydau eraill, a bod ei gobeithion a'i dyheadau wedi cael eu difetha gan y salwch hwn. Ac mae'n mynd rhagddi i siarad am yr effaith y mae wedi'i chael ar ei pherthynas ag eraill. Mae'n chwalu ei gobaith o allu cael teulu. Ac felly un o'r pwyntiau a wnaeth Jenny yn glir iawn yn fy marn i oedd y ffordd y mae angen inni edrych ar hyn yn ei gyfanrwydd, oherwydd mae'n effeithio ar fwy na dim ond yr unigolyn sy'n dioddef ohono. Mae pobl ag endometriosis yn aml iawn yn cael anhwylder straen wedi trawma, ac yn aml gallant ddioddef o sepsis, sydd, fel y gwyddom i gyd, yn gallu lladd. Nid yn unig ei fod yn chwalu gobaith pobl o allu cael plant, mae hefyd yn gwneud pethau fel IVF yn anos oherwydd bod y tiwbiau wedi blocio, ac wedi'u difetha i bob pwrpas. Ac mae IVF yn anodd beth bynnag - nid oes sicrwydd o lwyddiant - ac felly mae llai o obaith byth y gall pobl ag endometriosis feichiogi. Cyfeiriais yn gynharach at nifer o lawdriniaethau, a gadewch inni feddwl am hynny o ddifrif. Mae'n rhaid i chi fynd i mewn unwaith y flwyddyn efallai, ddwywaith neu dair y flwyddyn efallai, i gael rhannau o'ch tu mewn wedi'u torri allan er mwyn i chi allu sefyll yn syth, eistedd heb boen, gallu bwyta, pî-pî, cael eich gweithio, gallu cael cyfnod heb fod mewn poen arteithiol. Waw - ni all neb wadu bod hwnnw'n ddyfodol llwm ar y naw. Ac wrth gwrs, down at ryw wedyn. Rhyw a chyfathrach - yr hyn rydym i gyd yn ei ddeisyfu mewn perthynas dda ac iach. Mae hynny'n anodd iawn i'w gael, ac mae'n effeithio ar y dynion yn y berthynas hefyd, oherwydd nid ydynt am feddwl y gallent frifo'r un y maent yn ei charu. Nid ydynt yn gwybod sut i fynd atynt, pa bryd sy'n amser da, oherwydd y boen ofnadwy. Ac o'r hyn y mae'r menywod sydd wedi siarad â mi am hyn wedi'i ddweud, nid yw'n fater o gymryd dwy dabled paracetamol. Felly, rwyf wedi cymryd rhan yn y ddadl hon oherwydd mai'r hyn rwy'n gofyn amdano yw mwy o ymdrech i helpu i ddod o hyd i ryw fath o ryddhad rhag poen sy'n wirioneddol gynaliadwy, ac yn anad dim, ffordd o leihau'r rhestr aros anhygoel o hir i allu cael diagnosis. Dywedodd Jenny - ac mae hi'n llygad ei lle - dywedir wrth ormod o bobl nad yw'n ddim ond blinder: 'Ydych, rydych chi'n gwaedu'n eithaf trwm y mis hwn; peidiwch â phoeni, fe fyddwch chi'n iawn.' Nid yw'r menywod hyn yn iawn, ac mae gwir angen iddynt gael meddygon cydymdeimladol sy'n deall go iawn fod hwn yn fater pwysig ag iddo effeithiau hirdymor ac y gall arwain at bobl yn gorfod colli'r cyfan neu ran o weithrediad y coluddyn hefyd. Felly, mae'n arwain at goluddyn llidus; mae'n arwain at bob math o broblemau eraill sy'n gysylltiedig â'r organau meddal yn rhan isaf ein habdomen. Felly, Weinidog, pe bawn yn gofyn am ychydig o bethau i ddeillio o'r ddadl hon, byddai'n cynnwys edrych yn hir ac yn ofalus ar sut y gallwn gael rhestrau aros byrrach ledled Cymru, a rhoi mwy o gyfarwyddyd i arbenigwyr ac i feddygon teulu fod hon yn broblem wirioneddol, ei bod yn effeithio nid yn unig ar y sawl sy'n dioddef ohoni, ond y teuluoedd o'u cwmpas, ac y dylid ei thrin â'r parch a roddwn i lawer o gyflyrau eraill. Teimlwn fod endimetriosis wedi'i drin fel 'dim ond un arall o'r pethau menywod hynny', a'i fod wedi'i wthio i'r cyrion braidd. Diolch am eich amser.