On her worst days, 22-year-old Tara Smith feels so much pain in her pelvic region that a hot wheat bag, painkillers, and the comforts of her own bed, aren't enough. She needs to go to a hospital emergency department to get morphine.
"Some days it's like an intense period pain, but when it's bad, it's like someone's wrapped up all my abdominal organs in barbed wire and are pulling on it tightly," she said. "It's a very stabbing, horrible pain."
Tara first felt the pain at puberty. But it took three more years of suffering, dozens of appointments with GPs and five gynaecologists, and a keyhole surgery, to be diagnosed with endometriosis.
Often dismissed as "bad period pain", endometriosis is a condition where tissue, similar to what normally lines the womb, grows outside the uterus, causing inflammation and debilitating pain.
It usually grows in the pelvic cavity, affecting the ovaries, bowel and bladder, but can also spread to the chest. Symptoms include nausea, painful periods and reduced fertility.
One in 10 Australian women are believed to have endometriosis, but a lack of awareness has meant doctors are struggling to identify it, research is scarce, and thousands of women are suffering in silence.
The Turnbull government has announced it will create the first "National Action Plan for Endometriosis", which will aim to improve the treatment, understanding and awareness of the little-known disease.
"On behalf of all of those in Parliament and all of those who have been responsible for our medical system, I apologise," said Health Minister Greg Hunt.
"This condition should have been acknowledged at an earlier time in a more powerful way, and it will never be forgotten again."
Mr Hunt, together with MPs Nola Marino and Nicolle Flint, issued a targeted call for endometriosis research under the Medical Research Future Fund.
They also announced $160,000 will go towards supporting the work of Professor Grant Montgomery, at the University of Queensland, who is using genomics to figure out better treatments.
Donna Ciccia, head of Endometriosis Australia, who wasn't diagnosed until she was 30, said tackling the chronic disease would be a "marathon, not a sprint", and that Australia was just at the starting line.
"It's been hidden for so long because there's a stigma attached and women are told it's in their heads, they're being hysterical, and to take painkillers," she said.
"But if you can't do everyday tasks, it's not normal, and you shouldn't have to put everything on hold at the prime of your life."
Dr Jason Abbott, professor of gynaecological surgery at the University of New South Wales, said endometriosis is where breast cancer was at a few decades ago in terms of understanding and treatment.
At present, a laparoscopy is usually required to confirm endometriosis. Patients may choose to have surgery or undergo hormonal therapy, but there is no known cure.
"I see women in their 40s and 50s who've been in pain since they were a teenager, and when they find out what they have, it can be extremely emotional," he said.
"Fertility is impaired in one in three women with endometriosis, so for women who are struggling, this is an extremely common problem."
It is common to hear of women who have struggled to convince their GPs, employers, friends and family members that the pain they feel is debilitating and real.
Tara, who studies forensic biology, has had three surgeries to remove the excess tissue, but still feels horrible pain on some days.
She is grateful, however, to have a management plan, which involves medication, pelvic floor physiotherapy, and regular check ups.
"The last couple of years have been the best couple of years," she said.
"I'm so excited by how things are changing and that we will no longer be ignored or unknown."
The National Action Plan will be developed in collaboration with the Australian Coalition for Endometriosis and members of the Parliamentary Friends for Endometriosis Awareness. There is bipartisan support.
Next year, the Jean Hailes Foundation will make endometriosis a key feature in its Women's Health Week in a bid to raise awareness.
For more information on endometriosis, visit Endometriosis Australia.
