Each month Mel can be crippled by a condition that affects one in 10 Australian women, though many more are thought to suffer in silence.

Endometriosis affects a woman’s reproductive organs; it happens when the tissue that lines the uterus grows outside of it.

Or, as Mel puts it, ‘’It causes a crap load of pain in your reproductive system, where you have inflamed, big round balls, or cysts, and small sticky patches that can stick your organs together.

‘’For me, it causes pain at that time of month; some months I’m okay, others I’m bedridden. Sometimes the pain is so bad I have had to be hospitalised; where every step I take feels like someone is stabbing me in the stomach.’’

Mel, an ambassador for Endometriosis Australia, started having symptoms at just 16 but was not formally diagnosed until she was 23.

At the time, a GP popped her on the contraceptive pill which fixed the symptoms, but did not stop the growth of the endometriosis.

‘’In 2013, at 31 years old, I nearly lost part of my bowel and one of my ovaries after they became stuck together,’’ she said.

‘’I endured major surgery yet just six months later it had grown back and taken over my appendix, so I had to undergo surgery again.

‘’Now I need further surgery but the risk of losing my ovaries is high and I want to have children so have put it on hold.’’

Issues with fertility are often a problem for endometriosis sufferers, something that Mel has struggled with for some time.

‘’I’ve been told that I have a one to five per cent chance of getting pregnant naturally, so IVF is the best path for me,’’ she said.

‘’At 34, and having recently separated from my husband, my quest for children has gone to a whole new level.’’

Another battle, Mel said, is finding a partner – or indeed anyone – who understands the condition.

‘’People don’t understand it because it’s invisible – I’ve had (radio) co-hosts who have just told me to take a panadol and get on with the job,’’ she said.

‘’That’s why Travis (Winks, Wave FM co-host) is so incredible – he read up on it and supports me when I have to lie down on the floor to deal with the pain.’’

Mel urged other sufferers to make sure they had a good support network.

‘Women with endo need to reach out to people and get mental health care as well,’’ she said. ‘’And to stay on top of the condition, and not ignore it.

‘’And for those women who have it and don’t yet know it, I want to say, bad period pain is not normal – get it checked out.’’