When Chakia Bradford, 32, first noticed she was short of breath in April of last year, she assumed it was bad allergies. The pollen count was up in her home of Humble, Texas, “so I really didn’t think too much of it,” Bradford, who works in law enforcement, tells TODAY.com. “And then m aybe a week and a half later, I still have shortness of breath,” she says. If she was sitting still, it wasn’t a problem. But when she was walking around, especially walking up stairs, “it became very hard to breathe,” Bradford says. She went to her primary doctor, who took X-rays. Bradford didn’t get the results until the next day, but was told to go to the hospital immediately. At the hospital, doctors confirmed that she had fluid in the space around her lungs, which was making it hard for her to breathe. They ended up removing about 2 liters of bloody fluid from Bradford’s lungs, she says, which made her feel like she was drowning. But the cause remained a mystery. “At this point, nobody knows what’s going on. … Everybody’s confused,” she says. Bradford ended up staying in the hospital for a little over a week while her medical team investigated. Finally, a doctor came in and started asking Bradford about her periods, which had been excruciatingly painful for the last eight years or so. Chakia Bradford. They realized that Bradford’s lung fluid might be related to her periods. But because she hadn’t been diagnosed with a condition like endometriosis, which causes a slew of painful symptoms alongside the menstrual cycle, the doctors weren’t sure. From her hospital bed, Bradford made an appointment with her OB-GYN. Bradford expected to talk about the possibility that she might have endometriosis, but “she kind of blew me off,” Bradford recalls, “as if the other doctors or myself didn’t know what I was talking about.” So Bradford went home and tried to return to her normal life. But about a month later, “I had another lung collapse and shortness of breath,” she says. “So this is happening every time my cycle comes.” This time, Bradford went right to the hospital and, after more testing, learned that she very likely had endometriosis. A ‘very rare’ example of serious endometriosis complications Endometriosis is a condition in which tissue similar to what typically lines the uterus ends up on other organs, Dr. Randa Jalloul, board-certified gynecologist and gynecologic surgeon with UTHealth Houston and Memorial Hermann Hospital, tells TODAY.com. Up to one in 10 women of reproductive age may have endometriosis, according to recent estimates. Of those, research suggests that between 0.5% and 4.7% will develop endometriosis tissue outside of the pelvis, Jalloul says. “It could be in the pelvis, in the abdomen, the chest, the colon,” says Jalloul, who is treating Bradford. “It could be anywhere.” And in “very rare” cases like Bradford’s, endometriosis tissue can affect the lungs and diaphragm, she adds. This can happen in two ways: First, endometriosis tissue can cause defects in the way the diaphragm muscle allows the lungs to expand and contract. Second, the condition can lead to leaks in the pleural tissue that surrounds the lungs, causing fluid buildup. Bradford had both, Jalloul says. Not only did she have defects in the diaphragm, but her endometriosis caused “an air leak and the fluid from the abdomen to actually travel into the lung and cause the lung to collapse,” she explains. Bradford in the hospital. After Bradford’s second lung collapse, surgeons implanted a type of mesh to hold her lung together and prevent another collapse. And, following that surgery, Jalloul met Bradford and informed her that she had Stage 4 endometriosis, indicating severe and widespread disease. The next step would be another major surgery for Bradford, this time in the pelvic area, so that Jalloul could see the extent of the endometriosis and remove the tissue that she could. But Bradford needed to heal from the last procedure first and, unfortunately, felt the fluid build up in her lungs again in the intervening weeks. She was left with tubes in her chest for over a month while waiting for medication to kick in that would temporarily halt her menstrual cycle. And, finally, in November 2025, she underwent the pelvic procedure with Jalloul. “Tangled up inside” The surgery turned out to be an extensive one. Jalloul and her team removed endometriosis tissue from her pelvic organs, as well as a fibroid from her uterus. They also removed her appendix because it was “touching the back of my uterus,” Bradford explains. “Because, when you have endometriosis, it just tangles things up inside.” Bradford works in law enforcement. The team also discovered that Bradford’s endometriosis had damaged a significant portion of her colon, which meant the damaged part needed to be removed and the colon resected. When Bradford woke up, she learned that the damage was so extensive and the lesions so low in her colon that she would need to use an ileostomy bag for the next nine weeks. Jalloul told Bradford that “she did so much cleaning in my rectum area that, if she would allow me to have a regular bowel movement, it probably would have gotten infected,” Bradford recalls. Jalloul stresses that Bradford’s case is the exception, not the rule: “I would say 90% of the time we don’t have to do an ileostomy,” she says, “but because of Chakia’s particular case, that was something we felt necessary to allow that area to heal well to give her the best chance long term for a functional outcome.” Thankfully, Bradford healed well. And her ileostomy was reversed in January. “And I’ve been healthy ever since,” she says. Learning to be her own advocate Looking back, Bradford recalls the times her OB-GYN brushed off her complaints about her periods, which were so painful that Bradford would have to take days off work. She would always “hope and pray my cycle starts on Saturday so I can have Saturday and Sunday to rest,” she says. While taking birth control helped control the pain, Bradford wondered why her doctor wasn’t interested in the root cause of her excruciating periods. “This is not right,” she remembers thinking. Since learning she has endometriosis, Bradford’s become an expert in her own condition. She now talks with her friends and co-workers about endometriosis and answers all their questions. Bradford also encourages them — and anyone experiencing something similar — to be their own advocate, even getting a second opinion if needed. Bradford is now committed to raising awareness of endometriosis. “Do not let anyone tell you having severe period cramps is normal because it’s not,” she says. Jalloul echoes that message: “I think every single woman needs to be an advocate for her health and know about endometriosis.” If what your doctor is giving you isn’t helping, it’s worth getting another opinion because “the treatment becomes more and more aggressive as the disease advances,” she adds. Today, Bradford feels “great,” she says, and will remain on a medication that suppresses her cycle until November. While she’s anxious about having a period again, she’s also excited to see what life with her cycle is like after the surgery. “I’m actually looking forward to it,” she says.  This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY: A 31-Day Healthy Aging Plan to Improve Strength, Mobility And Heart Health Podiatrist Reveals the No. 1 Exercise to Do Daily to Ease Plantar Fasciitis Pain Her Son’s Only ‘Safe Food’ Is Barilla Mini Wheels. When It Got Discontinued, Strangers Stepped up to Help ...read more read less