It took more than 10 years for Bindi Irwin to receive her endometriosis diagnosis after doctors dismissed her pain as “part of being a woman”. Now she is determined to make sure the “invisible disease” is no longer ignored.

Dozens of endometriosis lesions have been cut out of Irwin’s body in the three years since she revealed her diagnosis in 2023. And on Tuesday, Irwin posted a picture of herself in a hospital bed to Instagram to highlight the “invisible illness” as the end of endometriosis awareness month in March approaches.

Bindi Irwin says doctors initially fobbed off her pain as just “part of being a woman”.Bindi Irwin’s Instagram
“In the last three years, I’ve had over 50 endometriosis lesions cut out of my body,” Irwin said, including a chocolate cyst, which is a cyst sac filled with old blood that forms in the ovaries during menstruation.

TV personality Irwin, a former US Dancing With the Stars winner who is CEO of Australia Zoo and daughter of the late conservationist Steve Irwin, also said that she has had her appendix removed as well as a hernia repair – all of which occurred across two surgeries.

“I’ve felt indescribable, inescapable pain,” Irwin said. “Trying to keep my invisible illness to myself after being told by doctors it was just ‘part of being a woman’. I spent 10 years being undiagnosed.

“As a teenager and young woman, I felt weak and deeply insecure. I was trapped in my own body. March is endometriosis awareness month. As this month comes to a close, I urge everyone to remember this invisible disease each and every day.”

Bindi’s mother, Terry Irwin, commented on the post supporting her daughter.

“I am so proud of you for sharing your journey, Bindi. I have learned that it is important for women to seek out a surgeon who performs excision surgery instead of ablation. Everyone deserves to live without pain,” Terri Irwin said.

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This is a modal window. It’s not the first time Irwin has taken to social media to raise awareness about the illness and its diagnosis, issues explored in this masthead’s award-winning Medical Misogyny series.

In August last year, Irwin shared that after waiting 13 years for her diagnosis and undergoing two surgeries, she was “finally better”.

Bindi Irwin and her husband Chandler Powell with first child, Grace Warrior Irwin Powell, in 2021.Instagram
“I can function in everyday life without wanting to throw up or pass out from the pain,” she wrote.

“I felt utterly ashamed as a teenager and young adult being told that my pain was just part of being a woman. I felt lesser. I felt hurt. I felt weak. That is not OK. Young girls and women shouldn’t feel alone with pain in the driver’s seat of their lives.”

Irwin said at the time the stigma surrounding women’s health needed to be removed, a message echoed in her latest social media post.

“Lend support, compassion and grace towards the millions who suffer [with endometriosis]. It’s up to all of us to raise awareness, not just for endometriosis but for women’s health as a whole. No one deserves to suffer in silence,” she said.

“If you’re in pain, my heart breaks for you. I believe you. Please find answers. And don’t give up on yourself. I know how hard that can be.”