In this heartbreaking and deeply resonant episode, Dr. Ariella Heffernan-Marks sits down with Mary Spanos — an advocate who spent over a decade searching for answers to her crippling period pain, only to be told again and again: “It’s just your period.”

From her first emergency room visit at 12 to years of surgical disappointment, misdiagnosis, and disbelief, Mary’s story exposes how the system continues to fail women — and how that failure leaves lasting emotional scars. She opens up about the physical trauma of repeated procedures, the psychological toll of not being believed, and the turning point that came when a specialist finally said: “We might not have a solution.”

Together, Ariella and Mary unpack:✨ The hidden cost of delayed diagnosis in women’s health✨ Why being told to “just manage the pain” isn’t care — it’s dismissal✨ The emotional fallout of medical trauma and rebuilding trust in your body✨ How Ovum’s data-driven reports could help women be heard and believed sooner

Mary’s story is raw, real, and necessary — a reminder that pain is never “normal,” and that no woman should have to wait ten years to be taken seriously.

If you’ve ever been told your pain was “just in your head,” this episode is for you.