Dr. Michael Herrick (MBA'84, MA'11) and Lynda Rae Campbell (MHSA'93). (Submitted photo)
Posted: May 16, 2024
By: Dayna Park
For Giving Power
Lynda Rae Campbell (MHSA’93) was a positive, hard-working woman who loved animals, travelling, and her family and friends. She spent decades working as a speech-language pathologist with the Nova Scotia Speech and Hearing Clinic and as a manager in the Nova Scotia Department of Health and Wellness. She also worked in health-related organizations in Cameroon, Botswana, Trinidad and Tobago, and in The Bahamas, where she was the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) representative.
Most of the time, you’d never know Lynda was living with chronic abdominal pain, but there were times over the years that she could be found curled up on the floor in acute agony. In October 2021, at the age of 70, Lynda passed away from liver cancer, connected to her decades-long battle with endometriosis and abdominal pain.
What is endometriosis?
Endometriosis is a medical condition in which cells similar to the lining of the uterus grow outside the uterus, most commonly on the ovaries, fallopian tubes, and surrounding tissues. Approximately 15 per cent of women of reproductive age suffer from chronic pelvic pain, causing a tremendous impact on quality of life.
Numerous trips to doctors and hospital stays during Lynda’s lifetime in an effort to solve her pain led to medications, misdiagnoses, surgery, and even a dismissal of her symptoms. Now, her husband, Dr. Michael Herrick (MBA’84, MA’11), is passionate about improving awareness and outcomes for those who experience similar conditions.
Dr. Herrick is hoping to improve global research and understanding of these health issues by establishing the Endometriosis and Chronic Pelvic Pain Clinic Research Fund at Dalhousie. “I hope to change the perception of endometriosis and pelvic pain,” he says. “Excruciating pain is not normal, although many women are told it is normal.”
It has been estimated that chronic pelvic pain is responsible for $1.8 billion in total annual costs in Canada, not to mention the personal costs to those suffering.
"Endometriosis and chronic pelvic pain are associated with significant health care costs due to physician and emergency department visits, medications, surgeries, and hospital admissions,” says Dr. Elizabeth Randle (PGM’16). Along with Dr. Allana Munro (BScPH’05, MD’09, PGM’14), Dr. Randle is the medical co-lead for the Endometriosis and Chronic Pelvic Pain Clinic at the IWK Health—the first clinic of its kind in Atlantic Canada.
Supporting the treatment they deserve
Along with their team, Drs. Munro and Randle are ready to take on this challenge. Their goal is to develop a robust database of this patient population that will drive research and create best practices in symptom management, risk factor identification, and treatment options. The data will enable health professionals providing primary care to better diagnose and refer patients with chronic pelvic pain and endometriosis to get the right treatments.
“I’m very impressed by their capacity to solve this issue,” Dr. Herrick says of Drs. Munro and Randle’s research team. “But they need funding, so that’s how I can contribute.”
His philanthropic investment will help improve clinical care for women in pain today and establish a rich dataset required for future research and discovery.
“Lynda and I were married for 34 years, and we had great life together,” he says. “But we could’ve had longer, and she could’ve suffered less if we had known more about this affliction that so many women endure.”
